How California Republicans are fighting Newsom's redistricting push

Nicole Nixon, The Sacramento Bee on Aug 5, 2025

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Worried about the possibility of losing congressional seats, California Republicans are trying several strategies to fight Gov. Gavin Newsom’s aggressive push to redistrict the state to boost Democrats in response to a similar effort happening in Texas.

Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville, introduced legislation Tuesday that would impose a federal ban on all mid-decade redistricting, including in Texas.

Seeking to stop a “redistricting war” that “would be a very unhealthy thing for the country,” Kiley called on Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson – who has so far been quiet on the topic – to publicly support his bill.

“I’ve called on the speaker to show some leadership here by saying enough is enough,” Kiley said in an interview. “And I would say that the minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, needs to join him in that. Let’s get back to working on the things that matter. I think the way that they can do that is by supporting my bill.”

Kiley said he has spoken to Speaker Johnson about the topic but would not share details of the private conversation.

Newsom wants to call a special election later this year to ask voters to approve a new congressional map, which has yet to be drawn.

Unlike Texas, where state lawmakers have redistricting authority, California has an independent, citizen-led redistricting commission to draw new political maps following a decennial census. The governor would ask voters to approve new congressional lines for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections and revert back to a commission-drawn congressional map after the 2030 census.

“We’re reacting to the president of the United States and (Texas Gov.) Greg Abbott trying to rig the election,” Newsom said last week. “They recognize they can’t win in the midterms. All the momentum has shifted away from them.”

Republicans have slammed Newsom’s effort as hyperpartisan and undemocratic.

“The governor’s basically saying that he thinks what another state is doing is wrong, and therefore we should do it too. I don’t think that makes a lot of sense,” Kiley said.

With Congress in recess until after Labor Day and President Donald Trump backing the Republican effort to add five GOP seats in Texas, it’s unclear whether Kiley’s bill will go anywhere. He said the entire mid-decade redistricting fight is “not popular” among congressional Republicans.

Asked about Trump’s push for Texas to redistrict in order to help Republicans maintain control in the midterms, Kiley claimed Democrats benefit politically from undocumented immigrants being included in census counts and from miscounts during the 2020 census.

“Then you have states like Illinois that have gerrymandered their districts and created a much greater imbalance than exists in a state like Texas. So I think that the president is quite reasonable to think that Texas is a way to sort of balance those inequities,” he said.

GOP governor candidate threatens lawsuit

Steve Hilton, a Republican running for California governor in next year’s election, said he’s prepared to file a lawsuit the moment state Democrats officially move forward with the effort. That would likely be after lawmakers approve a constitutional amendment, which would then go to the ballot.

Hilton’s central argument is that a redistricting effort that does not immediately follow a federal census would violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause and the “one person one vote” rule.

“Millions have moved both in and out of California and within California” since the last census count in 2020, he said. “There’s been so much change in our population in the last five years. It’s crazy to think that we would even try and capture that without knowing what’s happening.

He cited a legal opinion from San Diego-based law firm JW Howard Attorneys that argues Newsom’s ploy could violate state and federal law.

“Unless a new count of residents can be conducted, there is no way to ensure compliance with Equal Protection in the drawing of legislative and congressional districts, either under the State or Federal Constitutions,” the memo reads.

Hilton said he’d support Kiley’s federal bill to put the kibosh on all mid-decade redistricting.

Kiley, who represents a district that covers part of the eastern Sacramento metro area and stretches from Lake Tahoe to Death Valley, said he’s “not really worried” about losing his seat if the California effort to redraw political maps passes.

“I’ve gotten support from Democrats, Republicans and independents, so there’s really only so much they can do to me,” he said. “But what I would not like is they draw a new map and then suddenly the communities that I currently represent, a number of them, are tossed out of my district. Communities that I’ve gotten to know. I know the people there. I know their issues.”

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