California’s gerrymander: a game two can play

California voters have made a couple things clear over the last couple of decades: they don’t like partisan manipulation of political maps. And they don’t like President Trump.

Those two imperatives have collided in recent days, as it appears to Gov. Gavin Newsom and others that one of the only ways to counter a Trump-supported partisan power grab in Texas is with a partisan power grab in California. Newsom and California Democrats essentially are saying they’re not going to bring a high-minded civics lecture to a partisan knife fight.

The governor and his allies are rushing to assemble a plan that could make it easier to elect as many as five more Democrats from California to the House of Representatives.

Newsom clarified on Monday that the party would only pursue the rare mid-decade redistricting plan if Texas and its Republican governor, Greg Abbott, move ahead with their own plan to gerrymander that state’s political map to create five additional House districts favorable to Republicans.

The bending of political lines to favor one party is almost as old as the Republic. The new trick conjured up by Texas is to complete a remapping mid-decade, rather than waiting for the decennial redrawing of boundaries that occurs after every census. That shift could be critical in deciding which party controls the House (and rides herd on the Trump White House) after the 2026 election.

Texans have an easier road to such a power play because the rules in their state allow it. That differs from California, where voters in 2010 dictated that an independent commission draw the boundaries for the U.S. House seats. That’s why Newsom and Democrats would need to get voter approval in November to launch California’s redistricting sleight of hand in response to the partisan hocus-pocus proposed in Texas.

With 43 of California’s 52 House seats already in Democratic hands, it’s not easy to bend boundaries to make another five districts friendlier to the party. But that’s the intention.

The still-emerging plan would seek to put more liberal voters in districts currently held by Republican Reps. Kevin Kiley, David Valadao, Darrell Issa, Doug LaMalfa and Ken Calvert, CNN reported. The redraw would also seek to strengthen the hold Democrat Reps. Dave Min, Mike Levin and Derek Tran have on their seats, according to the Associated Press.

The Times’ political team reported that, to be ready in time for a November election, Democrats in the Legislature have less than a month to draw a new map, hold hearings and negotiate the language of a special election bill.

Among those who will fight the move: former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Republican action star campaigned for the ballot measure that created the independent redistricting commission. And he’s made non-partisanship a focus of his political institute at USC.

“His take on all of this is [that] everyone learned in preschool or kindergarten that two wrongs don’t make a right,” said Daniel Ketchell, a spokesperson for Schwarzenegger. “It takes power from the people and gives it to politicians. He thinks it’s evil, no matter where they do it.”

Democrats need to remember that, when it comes to redistricting power in the rest of the U.S., Republicans have a distinct advantage. They hold a “trifecta” — controlling both legislative bodies and the governor’s office – in 23 states. Democrats have such single-party control in 15 states.

So if the game of tit-for-tat spreads across the country, the balance of power in the House could shift even more in favor of the GOP.

Today’s top stories

(Noah Berger/AP)

Incoming heat wave could make California fires worse

• California is bracing for a prolonged heat wave that may increase wildfire dangers and intensify existing blazes in the southern and central portions of the state.
• Southern California residents can expect the hottest days Wednesday through Friday. Temperatures are forecast to range from the upper 90s to the triple digits across many valleys.
• Crews fighting the growing Gifford fire are bracing for temperatures near 100 through Friday.

Undocumented and unhoused in one of California’s hottest regions

• Heightened immigration enforcement has driven unhoused people in the Imperial Valley deeper into isolation and danger under extreme heat conditions.
• Places where unhoused people in the Imperial Valley used to congregate, like local parks, are now empty.
• “You’re asking people to risk their lives to walk five or six blocks across the city to get to A/C,” said Daniela Flores, co-founder of IVEJ.

Their deportation proceedings were closed for years. Trump officials are reviving them

• Thousands of immigrants who have had their deportation proceedings paused for years are now finding their cases reopened again by the Trump administration.
• Many of them built their lives — including getting married and having children — around the assumption that they are safe from being detained and deported.
• The cases have overwhelmed the court system, which had originally closed them in order to alleviate the massive backlog on their dockets to focus on more urgent cases.

What else is going on

• The marijuana industry is struggling. A new fee may make it worse for L.A. businesses.
• The Justice Department released a new list of sanctuary jurisdictions. L.A. County is not on it.
• Wild pigs are turning up with “neon blue” flesh in California. Authorities are sounding the alarm.
• L.A. agreed to pay $500,000 to reporters arrested at a 2021 Echo Park protest.
• Trump named himself chair of the L.A. Olympics task force and said he’d send the military back to the city if he so chose in order to protect the Games.

Commentary and opinions

• Kamala Harris won’t cure what ails the Democratic Party, writes columnist Jonah Goldberg.
• Columnist Michael Hiltzik explains how the economy went from a 3% growth rate to the brink of recession in two days.
• California has sued Trump 37 times. Columnist Anita Chabria explains what’s at stake.
• The emerging generation of young scientists won’t survive Trump-era cuts, writes guest contributor Steven R. Furlanetto.

California

For Subscribers

Inside the high-stakes clandestine poker world that led to a Hollywood Hills murder

Authorities say illegal card games hosted at mansions in Encino, Sherman Oaks and the Hollywood Hills bring together Israeli organized crime figures, Latino gang members and gamblers who racked up debts as high as $1.5 million.

Aug. 6, 2025

Other must reads

• Will pro-Trump Latinos vote Republican in the 2026 midterms? A new poll casts doubts.
• The man behind LACMA’s Japanese Pavilion inspired renegade West Coast architects. Here’s how.
• Here’s what we learned from recently released classified files on the 1968 assassination of RFK in California.

For your downtime

Disco-inspired cocktail bar Night on Earth features plenty of neon.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

Going out

• Weekend: Already thinking about Sunday? Here’s how to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to “Resident Alien” star Alan Tudyk.
• Nightlife: There’s always something new going on in L.A.’s bar scene. Here are 21 of L.A.’s best new places to grab a drink, with a vibe — and cocktail — for everyone.

Staying in

• Movies: Here are six performances from Martin Scorsese you need to know.
• Television: Season two of “Wednesday” doesn’t recapture the magic of the first season, but it’s still a spooky delight.
• Recipes: Here’s a recipe for shrimp aguachile with cucumbers and pickled onions.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

A question for you: How do you shake the summer doldrums?

Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.

And finally ... your photo of the day

Tavis Kordell recently came out as nonbinary and is thrilled to bring their experience to the stage in the role of Daphne. (Annie Noelker / For The Times)

(Annie Noelker)

Today’s great photo is from Times contributor Annie Noelker, who captured 23-year-old actor Tavis Kordell. Kordell, who is nonbinary, flips the script as Jerry and Daphne in “Some Like it Hot” at the Pantages.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff writer
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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