Big money and names power the campaign to influence California voters over a new congressional map

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — It’s either a plan to save democracy from President Donald Trump’s attempts to rig elections or a power grab by Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democrats.

The race to define Newsom’s push to redraw California’s congressional map before the 2026 midterms is underway with about five weeks until voters can begin casting early ballots on Proposition 50. The prevailing narrative could determine which party controls the U.S. House for the last two years of Trump’s second term.

Days into the campaign, supporters and opponents each brought in more than $10 million. That’s a fraction of the $100 million-plus expected to be spent to win over voters by Nov. 4. The contest also is drawing some high-profile state politicians, including actor and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Here’s a look at the campaigns and how they’re ramping up.

A national redistricting fight

The California ballot question is part of the unusual mid-decade redistricting that Texas Republicans kicked off last month at Trump’s direction. By pressing GOP-led states to redraw congressional district boundaries in the party’s favor, the president hopes to prevent Democrats from taking control of the U.S. House in the 2026 elections.

Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to regain the House majority, which would give them the power to subpoena Trump, investigate his administration and block his legislative agenda.

Republican state lawmakers in Texas passed a bill aiming to make five Democratic-held congressional seats more winnable for the GOP. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law Friday.

California’s Democratic-controlled Legislature responded in kind. Lawmakers last week approved a plan, which Newsom quickly signed, to ask voters to approve new House district boundaries that shore up shaky Democratic districts and pick up as many as five GOP-held seats.

Newsom and Democratic allies are mobilizing

Newsom and his Democratic allies have raised at least $12 million from roughly 400,000 small donations so far, according to a campaign spokesperson. They are also leaning on wealthy donors and influential interest groups aligned with Democrats. The California Teachers Association and House Majority PAC, an independent expenditure group backing Democratic House candidates, each put in at least $3 million.

Newsom contributed $2 million from his own campaign funds, while the Service Employees International Union and the California Labor Federation each gave $1 million. Other top donors include business and technology executives Bill Bloomfield, Paul Graham, John Pritzker and Andrew Hauptman.

The move is necessary to push back on Trump’s aggressive agenda, Newsom said, adding that he is convinced Trump will not leave the White House after his second term, though there is a constitutional ban on serving more than two terms. The campaign has explicitly tied the redistricting effort to the fate of American democracy.

“Wake up, we’re losing this country in real time,” Newsom said. “This is not bloviating. This is not exaggeration. It’s happening.”

Republicans are building their war chests

On the other side, multiple groups have emerged opposing the measure, each with a different approach.

Stop Sacramento’s Power Grab, led by McCarthy and Jessica Millan Patterson, a former state GOP chair, frames Newsom’s initiative as a scheme by Democrats to boost their own influence.

Patterson said the group wants to be sure that “people who believe that the power belongs with the people and not with Sacramento politicians are educated and are turned out to vote.”

Another group, Protect Voters First, is casting Newsom’s plan as an attack on California’s voter-approved independent redistricting commission. Charles Munger Jr., a prolific California donor who spent millions of dollars to support the creation of the commission, has contributed $20 million and signaled he is open to spending as much as needed to reach voters.

Schwarzenegger, one of the most notable champions of that commission, will continue speaking out against the gerrymandering efforts. The Republican hasn’t committed to any formal campaigns and isn’t planning on setting up his own committee, his representative said.

Mailers from opposing groups already reached voters this week. One from Munger’s organization cites criticism of the unusual midcycle redistricting by some Democrats and good-government advocates such as the League of Women Voters.

TV and digital ads from both sides are expected to go live as soon as this weekend. Campaigns are also planning canvassing efforts to reach undecided voters.

If voters approve the new map, it would replace the existing one drawn by the independent commission and remain through 2030 elections. The commission then would resume its power to draw new boundaries using 2030 census data.

Other states may join in

Both parties are looking across the U.S. map to see where else they can press their advantage. Republicans are eying gains in Indiana, Missouri and Florida; Democrats see potential in Maryland, New York and Illinois.

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe on Friday, a Republican, called lawmakers into a special session next week to consider redistricting, looking to add another GOP-friendly district.

The moves so far in Texas and California have faced legal challenges. The California Supreme Court dismissed two lawsuits filed by Republican lawmakers, but opponents said they would keep challenging the map.

U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Republican whose district would grow more Democratic if California’s new map survives, hopes voters will ignore what’s happening in Texas and at the White House. The question facing voters is only about California and its elections, he said.

“It makes no sense to say that if some other state is doing something that we don’t like, we should then respond by doing too,” said Kiley, who opposes the Texas redistricting plan and recently introduced legislation to ban all midcycle redistricting efforts nationwide. “That fails the test of kindergarten logic. Two wrongs doesn’t make a right.”

Democrats in Washington are confident strong candidates are ready to run in the newly attainable California districts if voters approve.

In addition to Kiley, the proposed California map also targets Republicans Doug LaMalfa, who represents mostly rural areas of Northern California, and Ken Calvert in Southern California’s suburban Inland Empire. Their districts would become significantly less conservative.

The Democratic map also takes aim at Republicans David Valadao in the Central Valley agricultural region and Darrell Issa in the San Diego area.

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Cooper reported from Phoenix.