Newsom, prominent Democrats rally voters before special election about redrawing congressional districts

Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris and a group of other national and California Democrats rallied their supporters Saturday to approve a ballot measure to redraw the state’s congressional districts ahead of the midterm elections.

While polls suggest Proposition 50 will likely pass Tuesday, volunteers should continue knocking on doors, phone banking and motivating voters throughout Election Day, they said. Newsom told volunteers they should follow the example of sprinters and leave it all on the field.

“We can’t afford to run the 90 yards. You Angelenos, the Olympics are coming in 2028. They’re not running the 90 yards. They’re running the 110 yards. We’ve got to be on top on Election Day,” Newsom told hundreds of supporters at the Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles. “We can’t take anything for granted.”

Hours earlier, the Republican spoke against the ballot measure at John Wayne Park in Newport Beach before sending teams into neighborhoods to gather votes for their side.

“What Proposition 50 will do is disenfranchise, meaning it will ignore all Republicans in the state of California,” said State Assemblywoman Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach). “Ninety percent of 6 million [Californian Republicans] will be deprived of their rights.”

Proposition 50 calls for redrawing California’s congressional districts in an effort to increase the number of Democrats in Congress. The effort was proposed by Newsom and other California Democrats in hopes of blunting President Trump’s push to increase the number of Republicans elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections in Texas and other GOP-led states. But even if voters approve the ballot measure that could flip five California districts currently represented by Republicans, it’s unclear whether that would be enough to flip control of the House of Representatives unless there’s a blue wave in the 2026 elections.

The party that wins control of the House of Representatives will shape Trump’s final two years in the White House and determine whether he can continue to implement his agenda or face a series of investigations and possibly a new impeachment attempt.

The special election is among the costliest ballot measures in state history. More than $192 million has been funneled to various campaign committees since state lawmakers voted to put the proposal on the ballot in August. Supporters of the redistricting effort have raised exponentially more money than opponents, and polls suggest the proposal is likely to pass.

As of Friday, more than a quarter of the state’s 23 million registered voters had cast ballots, with Democrats outpacing Republicans.

Newsom was joined on Saturday by Harris, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, other Democrats and labor leaders.

Harris made a surprise appearance at the meeting, arguing that the Trump administration was implementing long-sought GOP goals such as voter suppression.

“This fight isn’t about just sitting around and complaining, ‘Oh, they’re cheating,'” the former vice president said. “It’s about understanding what they’re up to. We’re seeing a chaotic agenda, I know, but we’re actually witnessing a high-speed event of rapid execution of a plan that’s been in the works for decades.”

Some speakers touched on immigration raids that began in Los Angeles in June and deep cuts to federal safety nets, including the nutrition assistance program for low-income families and health care for the elderly and disabled.

“We know there’s a lot at stake this Tuesday. And a reminder: Tuesday is not Election Day, it’s the last day to vote,” Padilla said. “Don’t wait until Tuesday. Get your ballots in, folks…. As good as the polls look, we need to up the ante on this because the eyes of the country will be on California on Tuesday. We need to win, and we need to win big.”

Padilla, a typically staid legislator, then offered a modified riff on a lyric by Ice Cube, a rapper who grew up in South Los Angeles.

“Donald Trump, you better check yourself before he destroys America,” said Padilla, who is considering running for governor next year.

About 50 miles to the southeast, about 50 Republican campaigners packed with coffee and donuts converged on brisk weather and unease over Newsom’s attempt to redraw California’s congressional districts.

Will O’Neill, chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, called this latest push against Proposition 50 a Game 7 of the California GOP; This was a nod to Friday night’s World Series clash between the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.

“Orange County is currently the only county in Southern California where Republican voting is higher than Democratic voting,” O’Neill said. “We expect about 70% of voters in the next three days to vote no on 50. But we need them to vote.”

O’Neill called the measure a “hyper-partisan power grab.” If passed, Proposition 50 would weaken Republican power in Orange County by dividing communities and redirecting some residents to areas represented by Los Angeles County politicians.

Dixon also gathered volunteers from across the state, including a handful of college students: “Be polite. Just say thank you very much. Just like Charlie Kirk would. Don’t.” [stimulate] a discussion. Just be friendly.

“They are destroying what little representation Republicans have in the state,” said Kristen Nicole Valle, president of Orange County Young Republicans.

“If Proposition 50 passes, we won’t hear from 40% of Californians.”

Randall Avila, executive director of the Orange County GOP, said the measure disenfranchises Latino GOP voters like himself.

Trump managed to get 48 percent of the Latino vote nationally. A Pew Research study showed that:This proved crucial to his second presidential victory.

“Frankly, our community has shown that if the elected official or party is not serving us, we are willing to change parties and go in another direction,” Avila said. “So it’s unfortunate that some of these voices are being silenced, with a predetermined winner in their own district.”

Avila said all hope is not lost for Republicans if Proposition 50 is approved. Republicans could pick up a handful of seats, including districts held by Reps. Dave Min (D-Irvine) and Derek Tran (D-Orange).

“If the lines change, that doesn’t mean we pack up and go home,” he said. “That means we reorganize, we restructure things, and then we keep fighting.”