Gavin Newsom’s Gerrymander Pushes 32-Year GOP Rep Into Dogfight With Fellow Republican

Two Republican California lawmakers announced Wednesday they will run against each other after the state’s newly approved Democratic gerrymander drew them into the same district.

Republican California Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim both confirmed their intentions to run in the new 40th congressional district one day after Golden State voters soundly approved Proposition 50 — a measure to suspend California’s independent redistricting commission in favor of a partisan map drawn at the behest of the Democratic-dominated legislature. The effort, which will keep the gerrymander in place through the 2030 election, has been heavily pushed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in response to Texas’ decision to redraw its lines to create more Republican seats.

The new district Calvert and Kim are running in is significantly more Republican than the competitive seats they currently represent. If it had existed during the 2024 election cycle, the new 40th would have voted for Trump by 12 percentage points, according to the Washington Post.

“Californians in the newly drawn 40th District deserve a proven conservative they can trust and a fighter who has delivered results for Riverside and Orange County for decades. No one else comes close to my record of service to the new 40th,” Calvert said in a statement announcing his run under the new lines. “I look forward to helping President Trump to deliver lower taxes, to bring down housing costs, secure our borders, make our streets safe and bring real results to the families of this district for years to come.”