Common Cause, a nonpartisan group critical of partisan gerrymandering, will not oppose California‘s redistricting push, describing it as a “counterbalance measure” to President Donald Trump‘s public call for Texas and other red states to redraw maps to secure additional House seats before the midterm elections.
The change of heart follows a pop-up fundraising appeal on the group’s website last week that slammed Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) for “attempting to copy the GOP’s playbook to boost his profile.” A July 24 newsletter from the group also called the actions of Texas and Newsom “wrong” and said “all of it is anti-democratic.”
That position has since been revamped.
“In the current mid-decade redistricting battle, we recognize that President Trump and Republican leaders are pursuing a calculated, asymmetric strategy to redraw districts mid-decade in states like Texas, to lock in unaccountable power and silence voters,” the group posted on its website on Tuesday. “This is not an isolated political tactic; it is part of a broader march toward authoritarianism, dismantling people-powered democracy, and stripping away the people’s ability to have a political voice and say in how they are governed.”
The group said while it would not endorse partisan gerrymandering “even when its motive is to offset more extreme gerrymandering by a different party,” it added that a “blanket condemnation in this moment would amount to a call for unilateral political disarmament in the face of authoritarian efforts to undermine fair representation and people-powered democracy.”
Common Cause said it is establishing a six-point fairness criteria by which it would be assessing states’ maps. It includes proportionality, public participation, racial equity, federal reform, endorsement of independent redistricting, and time limits, meaning any new maps must expire after the 2030 Census and be replaced through a regular decennial redistricting process.
“We will not sit idly by while political leaders manipulate voting maps to entrench their power and subvert our democracy,” Common Cause president and CEO Virginia Kase Solomon said in a statement.
The Texas map could yield up to five new red seats. The White House has also reached out to Republicans in Indiana, Missouri, and Florida to follow suit.
California has not proposed any new maps yet, but Newsom, widely considered a 2028 Democratic presidential hopeful, has threatened to do so if Trump and Texas don’t stand down.
Nick Miller, communications director for California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-CA), told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that the legislature is “aiming to release draft maps on Friday.”
On Tuesday night, Newsom kept up the pressure on Trump, posting on X that he “WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY” and allow Democrats to take control of the House of Representatives.
NEWSOM ADVANCES CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING BID TO ‘END TRUMP PRESIDENCY’ WITH JAB AT WHITE HOUSE
Newsom’s post was written in all caps, mocking Trump, who frequently uses all caps online.
“DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!! CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!),” Newsom wrote. “BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR “MAGA.” THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! — GN”
The president has not responded, but he will be at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
