California voters handed Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom a major win on Tuesday evening by signing off on his partisan gerrymandering proposal to create more Democratic-friendly House seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The Associated Press (AP) projected Proposition 50’s passage almost immediately after polls closed at 8:00 p.m. PT. CNN also called the race for the gerrymandering ballot measure minutes after polls closed.
With 26% of the vote in, the “yes” campaign was leading the “no” campaign 62.3% to 37.7%, according to the AP.
Newsom, who will be term-limited out of office next year, framed Prop 50, also known as the “Election Rigging Response Act,” as a stinging rebuke to President Donald Trump. The ballot measure’s passage likely cements Newsom’s status as an early frontrunner in the Democratic Party’s 2028 presidential primary contest.
The Democratic governor led a months-long push, beginning in August, to redraw the state’s congressional maps following Texas’ decision over the summer to undergo partisan redistricting that sought to net as many as five new Republican seats. Trump has urged red states to redraw their maps to benefit Republicans ahead of the midterm elections.
Republicans fiercely opposed the California ballot measure as a partisan power grab that disproportionately impacted conservative and rural pockets of the state, which could soon be under Democratic representation for the first time in decades.
Democrats vastly outspent Republicans in the special election after a spate of recent polling showed the ballot measure was expected to pass.
Democrats spent nearly $100 million on ads with the help of progressive megadonor George Soros and Netflix chairman Reed Hastings. Republicans, conversely, poured roughly $40 million into defeating Newsom’s gerrymandering push. Charles Munger Jr., a prominent Republican donor and heir to a massive Berkshire Hathaway fortune, doled out $30 million alone to an anti-Prop 50 campaign.
Though former Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke out against Prop 50, he did not crisscross the state to defeat the gerrymander. California voters approved an independent redistricting commission backed by Schwarzenegger in 2010.
The ballot measure asks voters whether the state should suspend its independent redistricting commission for new maps heavily favoring Democrats through 2030.
Republicans control just nine out of California’s 52 House seats — 17%. Prop 50’s passage could reduce Republicans’ presence to just 4 districts in the state, 8% of its total seats.
Republican lawmakers who could face difficult reelection bids due to Prop 50’s passage include Reps. Kevin Kiley, Ken Calvert and Doug LaMalfa, whose districts will likely become safe Democratic seats.
Republican Rep. Darrell Issa’s San Diego district will also become more competitive for Democrats, but the wealthy congressman could self fund a campaign to fend off a Democratic challenger.
Republican Rep. David Valadao’s purple district in the state’s Central Valley is also expected to become a few shades bluer due to Prop 50’s passage.
A majority of public comments submitted to California State Assembly’s Committee on Elections opposed Newsom’s gerrymandering push, according to over 19,000 comments obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“We have an independent redistricting commission. Why would you take away what we voted for. If you do, I’ll never vote Democratic again,” one submission states.
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