LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) rallied hundreds of supporters on Saturday for Proposition 50, a controversial ballot measure that would redraw the state’s congressional districts to give Democrats an advantage ahead of the midterm elections.
Newsom, who has framed the fight as one for the very soul of democracy, told volunteers to keep up their efforts heading into Tuesday’s election.
“We have got to be at peak on Election Day,” he said at the Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles. “We cannot take anything for granted.”
Newsom was joined by former Vice President Kamala Harris, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX).
Harris told those who had gathered that the Trump administration has been actively looking for ways to suppress voters.
“This fight is not about sitting by and complaining, ‘Oh, they’re cheating,’” Harris, who lost to President Donald Trump in last year’s election, said. “It’s about recognizing what they are up to. There is an agenda that we are witnessing which feels chaotic … but in fact, we are witnessing a high-velocity event that is about the swift implementation of a plan that has been decades in the making.”
Bass told a fired-up crowd that the “nation is depending on us because they know, so goes L.A., so goes California, so goes the nation.”
“It’s been 10 months and we’ve got three more years,” she added. “We’ve got to put some checks and balances on this guy.”
When it was his turn, Schiff told the audience that the Trump administration had “poked the bear.”
“And you don’t poke the bear, not in California, because if you do, that bear is going to kick your ass,” he said.
Even though most polling suggests that Proposition 50 is likely to pass on Tuesday, Democrats have not slowed down on their campaign, canvassing neighborhoods throughout the state and holding phone banks.
“Prop. 50 is not just a ballot measure,” Service Employees International Union President April Verrett said. “Prop. 50 is a moral line in the sand. It says this country belongs to all of us.”
Newsom also made a stop in San Diego on Friday at the United Domestic Workers headquarters to rally support for the ballot measure.
“Thank you for all that you have done to get us this close to victory,” Newsom told the crowd.
San Diego resident Stephen Martinez told the Washington Examiner that he, his wife, and three adult children planned to vote together on Tuesday.
“Normally, people voting in special elections are older like me and my wife, but this time our daughters will be with us,” he said. “It is important that we send a message.”
California’s Proposition 50 was triggered in response to Trump’s urging of Texas to change its maps to give Republicans a five-seat advantage in next year’s midterm elections. Since then, other red states, such as Missouri, North Carolina, and Utah, have followed suit.
Unlike Texas, where state lawmakers have control over drawing the state’s congressional map, California’s process is more complicated. Its constitution requires that an independent redistricting commission draw the map and that voters approve any changes made to it. That means even though the state legislature passed the proposed map, voters will decide on Nov. 4 whether it will be used for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections.
If voters approve it, it would turn three Republican-held seats into safe Democratic seats, making two others more Democratic-leaning. Specifically, the map would change districts held by Reps. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) in Northern California. In Southern California, Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Ken Calvert (R-CA) would be at risk, and in the Central Valley, Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) would have a much harder time getting reelected if the map is passed.
Republican California Assemblyman Carl DeMaio and Reform California are leading the fight to defeat Proposition 50. Last week, they hosted an event at the Elks Lodge in Escondido. DeMaio told about 100 attendees that they needed to put signs in their yards and write letters.
He also told the group gathered that they should target Democrats or independents who signed DeMaio’s voter ID petition. He referred to them as part of the “squishy vote on 50.”
“These people are fair people because they want voter ID, but they hate [President Donald] Trump, and that is why they are voting yes on 50,” he said. “They support the Citizens Redistricting Commission, but they are voting yes on 50 because they really hate Trump. In their mind, they are saying the ends justify the means. Never underestimate the capacity of a good person to do an evil act because they convinced themselves, yes, it’s bad, but there’s a reason. I get a pass on this one.”
CALIFORNIA OFFICIALS ADDRESS GROWING CONSPIRACY THEORIES TIED TO PROPOSITION 50 BALLOTS
He instructed attendees on how to approach the so-called squishy voters.
“When you ask them, ‘Have you returned your ballot and voted no on 50?’ they’ll say, ‘I’m voting yes,’ to which I want you to say to them, ‘I respect you, your opinion, and I am assuming you don’t like Trump and you think this is a good way to stop him, but recognize you do realize that Prop. 50 is rigging an election. You’re doing what you’re accusing Trump of doing.’”
