Spectrum News 1: California Democrats unveil bill seeking to end nationwide redistricting battle, call it ‘off-ramp’ for GOP
By Maddie Gannon
Democrats unveiled a bill Thursday that seeks to put a stop to what they branded as President Donald Trump’s nationwide “redistricting war” that has already brought a new Republican-favored House map in Texas, a move toward one in Missouri and a ballot initiative set to go before voters to boost Democratic districts in California.
The legislation, called the Redistricting Reform Act, is being introduced by two California Democrats, Rep. Zoe Lofgren in the House and Sen. Alex Padilla in the upper chamber.
It would require states to create independent redistricting commissions to draw Congressional district lines instead of allowing state lawmakers to do so themselves, as is the case in many states. It would also ban efforts to draw new House district maps in the middle of a decade as opposed to after the census every 10 years.
Promoting the bill at a press conference at the Capitol, Lofgren noted she has introduced this act since 2005, but said this year it takes on new meaning amid the scramble that has set off around the country to draw new maps in favor of one side or the other ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
”So what started in Texas has spread, predictably, to Missouri and Indiana, Florida and beyond,” Padilla said at the press conference. “It’s become a race to the bottom to impress Donald Trump who is personally issuing these marching orders from the White House – from the White House to legislators in statehouses across the country to rig the maps.”
Texas became the first state to embark on the effort, with the state legislature passing and the state’s GOP Gov. Greg Abbott signing a new map last month that could give Republicans five more seats in the U.S. House by making some currently held by Democrats more red.
California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom immediately moved to hit back, quickly getting his state legislature to get an initiative on the ballot this November that asks voters to approve new district lines in the state that seeks to give Democrats five additional seats of their own. As opposed to Texas, Newsom’s plan had to require getting approval from voters because they had tasked an independent commission with drawing California’s district lines years ago.
In a potential nod to the irony that the bill unveiled on Thursday by two California lawmakers would put an end to Newsom’s plan too, Padilla argued his state had “no choice” but to respond to Republicans’ efforts – and as long as those continued, so to do efforts in the Golden State.
“California will not stand down,” he declared. “California will continue to stand up if Republicans choose to continue to make a mockery of democracy.”
At the same time, the California senator presented the bill as an “off-ramp” for Republicans and Democrats to come together to put a stop to the ballooning nationwide redistricting scramble.
Lofgren pointed out that a few California House Republicans who would be in jeopardy of losing their seats if voters approve the new map on the ballot in November – particularly Rep. Kevin Kiley who introduced his own bill in Congress to ban mid-decade redistricting – may now be willing to support her bill. She would “welcome” their support and intends to reach out to seek it.
“When we passed this bill through the House in 2021, we did not receive a single vote from the Republicans,” she said. “I hope that they will change this time around, since so many of them seem to have expressed support for a nonpartisan redistricting process now that their seats may be at risk.”
Since the redistricting moves by Texas and California, Missouri’s Republican-led legislature has since passed a new map intended to give the GOP a new seat and there has been pressure on Indiana to do the same. Indiana’s Republican Gov. Mike Braun told a local radio station this week that a redrawing of his state’s map in favor of Republicans “probably” will happen, despite some expressed hesitancy from state lawmakers.
There has also been chatter about Florida Republicans considering doing the same while Democrats in New York and Maryland have floated the possibility in response. Utah and Ohio, meanwhile, are required to look into new district lines for different reasons but nonetheless could see maps change.
Pete Buttigieg – the former mayor of South Bend and transportation secretary under former President Joe Biden – was back in Indiana on Thursday to rally against potential redistricting in the state.
“They are being pressured to change the rules so that voters don’t have a say anymore and they know that that is wrong,” Buttigieg said of state Republicans at a rally at the Statehouse in Indianapolis.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s press conference on Capitol Hill featured remarks in support of the Redistricting Reform Act from Democratic lawmakers from both chambers, hailing from an array of states. In a release after, Lofgren’s team noted the legislation has 50 co-sponsors, including the entire California Democratic Congressional Delegation, although she noted at the press conference no Republicans have offered their support yet.
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