The national battle over redistricting fueled by Texas Republicans’ effort to draw new congressional maps has created an odd dynamic for California Republicans. They are trying to save California’s system for drawing political districts, while President Trump is trashing it.
“California’s gerrymandered,” Mr. Trump said last week. “We should have many more seats in Congress in California.” The week before, Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that “the gerrymander in California is outrageous.”
Political scientists who study redistricting say that the state’s system for drawing maps, which is overseen by a bipartisan independent commission, gives Democrats a slight statistical edge. Even so, Republican officials in California say that the commission is considerably better than the alternative: letting the Democrat-dominated legislature draw the lines.
“I would argue that independent redistricting benefits Republicans in California,” said Matt Rexroad, a Republican political consultant and redistricting expert.
The commission is receiving more scrutiny as a fierce tit-for-tat over redistricting ricochets across the country. At Mr. Trump’s request, Texas lawmakers have drafted new maps to help Republicans win five additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has vowed to respond in kind, by redrawing congressional districts in his state to create more seats that Democrats are likely to win.
Mr. Newsom’s plan would toss the independent commission’s maps through 2030 and replace them with intentionally partisan districts created by Democratic lawmakers. That has California Republicans working to preserve the maps Mr. Trump criticized as they try to block Mr. Newsom’s attempt at a Democratic gerrymander.
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The post Trump Attacked California’s Congressional Maps. Republicans Want to Save Them. appeared first on New York Times.
