Sara Sadhwani, a Democratic member of California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission, went on a tirade against President Donald Trump on Thursday while expressing support for her state’s push to take power away from her own commission.
Newsom and his state’s leading politicians launched a gerrymandering campaign intended to oust a half-dozen Republicans from the House of Representatives by taking redistricting powers away from the independent commission and handing it to the state Legislature. Despite being on this independent commission, Sadhwani joined Newsom’s rally to lament the president’s so-called “executive overreach” that is making the Founding Fathers “turn in their graves.”
“We have seen not just the toleration of political violence, but the encouragement of it on January 6 against non-partisan elected officials,” Sadhwani said. “And the deployment of the National Guard in our cities [and] turning our cities into police states. And if that wasn’t enough, we are watching executive overreach that no doubt is making our Founding Fathers turn in their graves. And we have to take action, these are the hallmarks of a democracy in peril.”
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Newsom’s push is a retaliation against Texas’ redistricting push that intends to help Republicans keep control of the House after the 2026 midterm election. A special election is expected to take place on Nov. 4 for voters to decide whether redistricting authority should be given to the state Legislature over the independent commission.
The commission consists of five Republicans, five Democrats and four independents who redraw lines “in conformity with strict, nonpartisan rules” to create “fair representation” in California, according to its website.
The California governor may not achieve the results he is hoping for during the potential special election. A Politico–Citrin Center–Possibility Lab poll found that just 36% of Californians support returning redistricting authority to the state Legislature.
At the rally, a sign reading, “Election Rigging Response Act,” hung from the podium while attendees held “defend democracy” placards. Newsom called on Democrats in every state to “stand up” and fight against Trump’s agenda rather than allow “this democracy to disappear.”
“We can’t stand back and watch this democracy disappear, district by district, all across this country,” Newsom said. “We need to stand up. Not just California: Other states need to stand up.”
Vice President J.D. Vance, along with several others, have suggested that California’s congressional maps are not as non-partisan as Democrats have claimed. Republicans currently hold 17% of the state’s congressional seats in the Golden State despite Trump winning 38.3% of the vote in the 2024 presidential election.
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