The theme for their fall convention was “going on the offense” but Proposition 50 has forced California Republicans to throw up multiple emergency defensive fronts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections and threatens to further erode the party’s meager electoral success in the state.

The convention was originally supposed to be a celebration for Republicans basking in President Donald Trump’s return to office and flipping two legislative seats last year. Instead it became a war room for slapdash organizing to defeat Prop. 50 in November and protect the nine members of California’s Republican congressional delegation.

In frantic training sessions over the weekend, party members strategized messaging and turnout tactics to defeat the measure, which asks voters to approve a politically gerrymandered congressional map that could net Democrats up to five more seats in the U.S. House. The Nov. 4 special election is less than two months away.

Carl DeMaio, a Republican assemblyman and leader of the grassroots group Reform California, half-jokingly urged a packed room not to campaign too publicly.

“I don’t want you sign-waving over a freeway. You’re just reminding Democrats there’s an election,” he said, bringing a finger to his lips and theatrically shushing as the room laughed. “We need to be turnout ninjas.”

It was just one of several meetings focused on the ballot measure during the weekend convention at the Hyatt Regency just over a mile from Disneyland. In the hotel lobby, parents shepherded children wearing Mickey Mouse ears past throngs of conventiongoers sporting suits, “Make America Great Again” hats and sequined pro-Trump regalia.

Prop. 50 is Gov. Gavin Newsom’s response to a similar redistricting play by Texas Republicans. He successfully pushed state lawmakers to put it on the ballot for a special election to redraw congressional lines ahead of the 2026 midterms.

At the convention, the proposition inspired a slew of taunting nicknames for the Democratic governor, whom Republicans love to hate: “Gaslight Gavin,” “Gruesome Newsom” and “Gavinmanderer.” Delegates and party leaders described it as a corrupt and hypocritical maneuver from the governor.

“How more ironic can you get? The party that touts ‘democracy, democracy, democracy, democracy’ (is) going to absolutely destroy democracy,” said Riverside sheriff and Republican gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco. “I think that Californians all see it. People don’t want this.”

But while the party is “laser-focused” on defeating Prop. 50, Chairwoman Corrin Rankin said the governor wouldn’t feature in the party’s messaging against it.

“I don’t think it’s about Gavin Newsom,” she told reporters.

“Everyone wants to be able to choose who represents them, and not the other way around,” Rankin said. “I think Independents, Democrats and Republicans alike, all resonate with the fact that we would be losing a constitutional right that we ourselves voted to have.”

If it passes, the measure would scramble races and could pit some GOP incumbents against each as they vie for fewer competitive seats.

Lodi businessman Jim Shoemaker planned to challenge Democratic Rep. Josh Harder next year in the 9th Congressional District but said he may have to reevaluate if voters approve the map because it would split his city into three different districts.

“We are a lot different than the Bay Area, and we’re a lot different than the mountain area,” Shoemaker said, referencing the geography of the redraw that could fracture Lodi, a northern San Joaquin County town known for its vineyards and wineries. “I’m well-known in my community but they want to split it up.”

Republicans’ disparate messaging

While party officials and Republican voters overwhelmingly oppose the measure, the “No” campaign is fractured and utilizing different messages to reach different voting blocs.

One group backed by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is using an anti-Newsom argument to rile up the GOP base. Another funded by Republican megadonor Charles T. Munger targets middle-of-the-road and left-leaning voters uncomfortable with the idea of suspending the independent redistricting commission.

Officially, the statewide party will support get-out-the-vote efforts. “We’re going to put in everything that we need” to defeat it, Rankin said, though she declined to specify an amount. The chairwoman also denied that the campaign fight could mean less money for Republican candidates in 2026.

Then there’s Reform California, DeMaio’s group, which is preparing to mail out 250,000 petitions for a ballot measure to tighten voter ID requirements in the state. He announced each one will come with an anti-Prop. 50 flyer that’s designed to be politically neutral in order to reach independent and democratic voters.

“If you notice, there’s not a single Republican word on here,” he said, waving a card with a yellow “No on 50” logo. “Please don’t use red unless you’re going to a Republican Central Committee meeting. Please use something that’s fluffy and very nonpartisan.”

Party leaders dismissed any notion that the array of different messages would hurt their cause.

“We don’t mind people attacking it from different angles. Different people listen to different messages,” Rankin said.

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