California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom secured a victory this election night – and his name wasn’t on the ballot.
The Newsom-backed Proposition 50 – which could give Democrats an extra five congressional seats in the Golden State in midterms and in 2028 – passed easily, with the race called seconds after polls closed.
Newsom came up with Proposition 50, the ‘Election Rigging Response Act,’ after the Texas GOP approved a plan to redistrict the Lone Star State to give Republicans a leg up in retaining the House of Representatives in 2026.
Proposition 50 will take the power of redrawing California’s map away from the bipartisan California Citizens Redistricting Commission until 2030 and return it to the state legislature, which is controlled by the Democrats.
The victory gives Newsom a political boost as he considers a 2028 presidential run.
And it gives Democrats an additional win after the party saw victories in both Virginia and New Jersey’s governors’ races and New York City voters elect Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, over former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who President Donald Trump backed in a last-minute endorsement.
Newsom proclaimed Tuesday night from Sacramento that the Democratic Party was ‘in its ascendancy.’
‘A party that is on its toes, no longer on its heels, from coast to coast, sea to shining sea,’ he said.
‘We stood tall and we stood firm to Donald Trump’s recklessness, and tonight, after poking the bear, this bear roared – with an unprecedented turnout in a special election with an extraordinary result,’ Newsom added.
California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks Tuesday night after his Proposition 50 easily passed, which will allow the Democrats in the state legislature to redraw the state’s congressional map that will likely give Democrats five more House seats
Jerry Canaday of Santa Rosa, who has supported numerous liberal causes since the 1960s, encourages passing motorists to vote Yes on Prop 50 in Santa Rosa, California on Monday
The California grizzly bear is the state’s official animal.
‘We’re proud of the work that the people of the state of California did tonight to send a powerful message to an historic president,’ Newsom continued. ‘Donald Trump is an historic president, he is the most historically unpopular president in modern history.’
The Democratic governor claimed that Trump was ‘underwater’ in every metric.
‘He promised to make us healthier, he promised to make us wealthier. We’re sicker and poorer. And he fundamentally understands that,’ Newsom said.
Newsom argued that’s why Trump called Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other Republican governors to back the unusual redistricting plan.
Redistricting is generally done only once a decade, after a new census is completed, but Republican state legislatures started crafting new maps in Texas and then in North Carolina, Missouri and Ohio.
The new districts are expected to help Republicans gain five House seats in Texas, two in Ohio and one in both North Carolina and Missouri.
Newsom said Trump knew what was at stake if Democrats were able to win back the House of Representatives next year.
‘We can de facto end Donald Trump’s presidency as we know it the minute Speaker Jeffries gets sworn in,’ Newsom said.
California voters did not initially embrace Newsom’s plan, as the bipartisan commission was popular, as it prohibits either party from gerrymandering districts.
Newsom made the case that Democrats needed to fight ‘fire with fire.’
‘These guys are not screwing around. They’re ruthless. They’re trying to rig the election before one vote is cast,’ Newsom said in a recent CNN interview. ‘What they expected us to do was cast aspersions, maybe write an op-ed, maybe have a candlelight vigil, walk the streets, talk about the way the world should be, maybe try and win the argument, as they’re consolidating power.’
Beyond the redistricting push, which was backed by prominent party members including former President Barack Obama and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Newsom has used his social media posts to troll Trump, mimicking his often outlandish vernacular.
Trump took to Truth Social earlier Tuesday to trash the effort.
‘The Unconstitutional Redistricting Vote in California is a GIANT SCAM in that the entire process, in particular the Voting itself, is RIGGED,’ the president claimed.
California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom secured a victory this election night – and his name wasn’t on the ballot
Election workers check in voters Tuesday in Pasadena, California where Rose Parade floats were being assembled nearby
‘All “Mail-In” Ballots, where the Republicans in that State are “Shut Out,” is under very serious legal and criminal review. STAY TUNED!’ Trump added.
Trump has long taken issue with elections in California, floating – without evidence – that millions of illegal immigrants have voted in the state.
He made those claims after losing the popular vote, though winning the Electoral College and thus the White House, in 2016 when competing against Democratic Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
