Newsom fights fire with fire against Republicans and Trump
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As Texas Republicans seek to redraw their congressional maps in favor of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, Gov. Gavin Newsom has a power play of his own: redraw California’s congressional districts to favor Democrats.
With a new special election campaign, Newsom is proposing to temporarily scrap California’s independently-drawn congressional lines in favor of districts that support Democrats.
Could this political gerrymandering be the thing that saves democracy from Trump’s increasingly authoritarian impulses?
It’s a boundary-pushing gamble that will undoubtedly supercharge Newsom’s political star in the short-term, my colleague Julia Wick writes.
But a ballot-box flop would be brutal for both the California governor and the Democrats.
Paving the path forward
The “Election Rigging Response Act,” as Newsom has named his ballot measure, would temporarily scrap the congressional districts enacted by the state’s voter-approved independent redistricting commission.
Under the proposal, Democrats could pick up five seats currently held by Republicans while bolstering vulnerable Democratic incumbent Reps. Adam Gray, Josh Harder, George Whitesides, Derek Tran and Dave Min, which would save the party millions of dollars in costly reelection fights.
But first the Democratic-led state Legislature must vote to place the measure on the Nov. 4 ballot and then it must be approved by voters.
If passed, the initiative would have a “trigger,” meaning the redrawn map would not take effect unless Texas or another GOP-led state moved forward with its own gerrymandering effort.
Shelving independent redistricting
For Democrats like Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), who appeared alongside Newsom to kick off the special election campaign, there is “some heartbreak” to temporarily shelving their commitment to independent redistricting.
California voters have twice rallied for independent redistricting at the ballot box in the last two decades and many may struggle to abandon those beliefs.
A POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab poll found that voters prefer keeping an independent panel in place to draw district lines by a nearly two-to-one margin, and that independent redistricting is broadly popular in the state.
Still, Friedman told the Times she was hearing overwhelmingly positive reactions to the proposal from all kinds of Democratic groups on the ground. “The response that I get is, ‘Finally, we’re fighting. We have a way to fight back that’s tangible.’”
Fighting fire with fire
Newsom isn’t using political gerrymandering as his only method of combating Trump and the Republicans. His digital team has resorted to trolling Trump on X, mimicking the president’s own social media vernacular. Think petty insults and hyperbole with a heavy reliance on the “caps lock” key.
“DONALD IS FINISHED — HE IS NO LONGER ‘HOT.’ FIRST THE HANDS (SO TINY) AND NOW ME — GAVIN C. NEWSOM — HAVE TAKEN AWAY HIS ‘STEP,’ ” one of the posts read last week.
Newsom’s actions are notably different from how he spent the first months of the new administration. In an attempt to reshape the California-vs.-Trump narrative, the governor hosted MAGA leaders on his podcast and contradicted the Democratic orthodoxy on the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
But after the president sent California National Guard troops into Los Angeles amid immigration sweeps and ensuing protests in June, Newsom’s MAGA conciliation ended.
Now he’s making a big gamble with his new special election campaign, the kind of big play that could redefine how voters across the country see him.
Read the full story here.
Today’s top stories
Separated by a border for decades, parents and children are reunited at last
- Officials in Mexico’s Zacatecas state obtained temporary visas to allow elderly parents of undocumented workers to enter the United States to reunite with children they had not seen in decades.
- A full third of people born in Zacatecas live in the U.S. Migration is so common, the state has an agency tasked with attending to the needs of Zacatecanos living abroad.
- The state tried to get 25 people visas this year. But the U.S., now led by a president who has vilified immigrants, approved only six.
3 days. 65 miles. An epic horseback ride honors legendary Mexican outlaw Joaquin Murrieta
- For three days and 65 miles, Mexican American horseback riders will travel through the heat and dust of the Central Valley to honor a man from the Gold Rush era who, depending on the point of view, was either a freedom fighter or a ruthless criminal.
- But this year immigration raids are keeping some people at home.
- The Times spoke with two riders who are citizens but have still felt their lives shift as the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown spreads fear through Latino communities.
Foul play is a possibility in the case of a missing Yucaipa infant
- Seven-month-old Emmanuel Haro has been missing since Thursday after his mother said she was assaulted by an unknown man while changing her son’s diaper, police said.
- Deputies were not able to locate the baby in a search of the area.
- The department said that when investigators confronted Haro about inconsistencies in her initial statement, she “declined to continue with the interview.”
Short-term home rentals are dropping in L.A.
- Home sharing registrations in Los Angeles have dropped over the last year.
- Last July, there were 4,228 active Home Sharing registrations in the city of L.A., according to the Planning Department. This July, there were 3,972 — a 6% decrease.
- One factor is that homeowners fear fines and stepped-up enforcement of the city’s 2018 Home Sharing Ordinance.
What else is going on
- California dog owners may need to be on alert for a disease many have never heard of — anaplasmosis, spread by the same tick that transmits Lyme disease.
- COVID surges nationwide with the highest rates in the Southwestern United States as students return to school.
- An adorable great horned owl was rescued from a sticky, deadly trap. Will it fly again?
- Israel’s growing frustration over the war in Gaza explodes in nationwide protests.
- Dan Tana, founder of the eponymous L.A. restaurant known for celebrity clientele, has died at 90.
Commentary and opinions
- Trump’s D.C. takeover is a desperate distraction from Epstein files, argues columnist LZ Granderson.
- Pete Hegseth, widely considered the least qualified Defense secretary in American history, is hardly anyone’s version of the ideal Christian husband and father, argues columnist Robin Abcarian.
- Enough with the mac and cheese, writes guest columnist Karen Stabiner. Proponents of a greatest-hits menu will say it’s diversity on a plate, but she doesn’t buy it.
This morning’s must reads
LAPD Internal Affairs Det. Joseph Lloyd has been assigned to investigate many of the department’s biggest scandals. He’s also become a lightning rod of controversy.
Other must reads
- It’s too late for buyer’s remorse. Why L.A. can’t back out of hosting 2028 Olympics.
- Chefs, comedians and actors share their favorite Valley hangs.
- After heart surgery, flag football champ Sophie Guitron is chasing an L.A. Olympics bid.
For your downtime
Going out
- Dining: 65 of our favorite places to eat in the San Fernando Valley.
- Hiking: 8 great hikes for your next Santa Barbara weekend getaway.
- Travel: This Orange County coastal oasis is more than magical beaches. Here are 17 reasons to visit right now.
Staying in
- Music: “Sunset Boulevard,” a new box set that takes a look inside the final burst of Elvis Presley’s creativity, has been released 48 years after his death.
- Books: A massive James Baldwin biography digs deep into the romances that shaped his writing.
- Recipes: Here’s a recipe for salt and vinegar salsa verde.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
And finally ... your photo of the day
Today’s great photo is from Times intern Annie Goodykoontz at a vigil honoring a man who died while fleeing an immigration raid at a SoCal Home Depot.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
Jim Rainey, staff writer
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
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