Proposition 50 is a short-term victory against Trump. But at what cost?
- Share via
- California’s gerrymandering ballot measure could worsen the polarization that’s consumed Washington and the nation.
- It won’t be clear until November 2026 whether the nationwide redrawing of political lines mattered in the fight for control of the House.
One of the great conceits of California is its place on the cutting edge — of fashion, culture, technology, politics and other facets of the ways we live and thrive.
Not so with Proposition 50.
The redistricting measure, which passed resoundingly Tuesday, doesn’t break any ground, chart a fresh course or shed any light on a better pathway forward.
It is, to use a favorite word of California’s governor, merely the latest iteration of what has come to define today’s politics of fractiousness and division.
In fact, the redistricting measure and the partisan passions it stirred offer a perfect reflection of where we stand as a splintered country: Democrats overwhelmingly supported it. Republicans were overwhelmingly opposed.
Nothing new or novel about that.
And if Proposition 50 plays out as intended, it could make things worse, heightening the country’s polarization and increasing the animosity in Washington that is rotting our government and politics from the inside out.
You’re welcome.
The argument in favor of Proposition 50 — and it’s a strong one — is that California was merely responding to the scheming and underhanded actions of a rogue chief executive who desperately needs to be checked and balanced.
The only apparent restraint on President Trump’s authoritarian impulse is whether he thinks he can get away with something, as congressional Republicans and a supine Supreme Court look the other way.
California voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved Proposition 50, a ballot measure that redraws California’s congressional districts.
With GOP control of the House hanging by the merest of threads, Trump set out to boost his party’s prospects in the midterm election by browbeating Texas Republicans into redrawing the state’s congressional lines long before it was time. Trump’s hope next year is to gain as many as five of the state’s House seats.
Gov. Gavin Newson responded with Proposition 50, which scraps the work of a voter-created, nonpartisan redistricting commission and changes the political map to help Democrats flip five of California’s seats.
And with that the redistricting battle was joined, as states across the country looked to rejigger their congressional boundaries to benefit one party or the other.
The upshot is that even more politicians now have the luxury of picking their voters, instead of the other way around, and if that doesn’t bother you maybe you’re not all that big a fan of representative democracy or the will of the people.
Was it necessary for Newsom, eyes fixed on the White House, to escalate the red-versus-blue battle? Did California have to jump in and be a part of the political race to the bottom? We won’t know until November 2026.
History and Trump’s sagging approval ratings — especially regarding the economy — suggest that Democrats are well positioned to gain at least the handful of seats needed to take control of the House, even without resorting to the machinations of Proposition 50.
There is, of course, no guarantee.
Gerrymandering aside, a pending Supreme Court decision that could gut the Voting Rights Act might deliver Republicans well over a dozen seats, greatly increasing the odds of the GOP maintaining power.
What is certain is that Proposition 50 will in effect disenfranchise millions of California Republicans and Republican-leaning voters who already feel overlooked and irrelevant to the workings of their home state.
Too bad for them, you might say. But that feeling of neglect frays faith in our political system and can breed a kind of to-hell-with-it cynicism that makes electing and cheering on a “disruptor” like Trump seem like a reasonable and appealing response.
(And, yes, disenfranchisement is just as bad when it targets Democratic voters who’ve been nullified in Texas, North Carolina, Missouri and other GOP-run states.)
Worse, slanting political lines so that one party or the other is guaranteed victory only widens the gulf that has helped turn Washington into its current slough of dysfunction.
The lack of competition means the greatest fear many lawmakers have is not the prospect of losing to the other party in a general election but rather being snuffed out in a primary by a more ideological and extreme challenger.
That makes cooperation and cross-party compromise, an essential lubricant to the way Washington is supposed to work, all the more difficult to achieve.
Witness the government shutdown, now in its record 36th day. Then imagine a Congress seated in January 2027 with even more lawmakers guaranteed reelection and concerned mainly with appeasing their party’s activist base.
Proposition 50’s big win Tuesday night is a political earthquake that is being felt nationally.
The animating impulse behind Proposition 50 is understandable.
Trump is running the most brazenly corrupt administration in modern history. He’s gone beyond transgressing political and presidential norms to openly trampling on the Constitution.
He’s made it plain he cares only about those who support him, which excludes the majority of Americans who did not wish to see Trump’s return to the White House.
As if anyone needed reminding, his (patently false) bleating about a “rigged” California election, issued just minutes after the polls opened Tuesday, showed how reckless, misguided and profoundly irresponsible the president is.
With the midterm election still nearly a year off — and the 2028 presidential contest eons away — many of those angry or despondent over the benighted state of our union desperately wanted to do something to push back.
Proposition 50, however, was a shortsighted solution.
Newsom and other proponents said the retaliatory ballot measure was a way of fighting fire with fire. But that smell in the air today isn’t victory.
It’s ashes.
Insights
L.A. Times Insights delivers AI-generated analysis on Voices content to offer all points of view. Insights does not appear on any news articles.
Viewpoint
Perspectives
The following AI-generated content is powered by Perplexity. The Los Angeles Times editorial staff does not create or edit the content.
Ideas expressed in the piece
The author argues that while Proposition 50 reflects an understandable impulse to push back against President Trump’s manipulation of congressional redistricting, the measure represents a shortsighted solution that will ultimately worsen the nation’s political dysfunction. Although acknowledging that California’s response to Trump’s pressure on Texas to redraw districts was justified in principle, the author contends that Prop 50 abandons the state’s commitment to independent redistricting and instead perpetuates the partisan gerrymandering that has poisoned American democracy. The measure will disenfranchise millions of California Republicans and Republican-leaning voters, further eroding faith in the political system and breeding the cynicism that makes figures like Trump appealing to frustrated constituents. Moreover, the author suggests that by guaranteeing Democratic victories in newly drawn districts, Prop 50 removes electoral competition and incentivizes lawmakers to focus on appealing to their party’s activist base rather than pursuing cross-party cooperation, thereby deepening the dysfunction already evident in Washington’s current gridlock. The author further argues that Democrats may not need Prop 50 to gain House seats in 2026, given Trump’s low approval ratings and historical voting patterns, making the measure an unnecessary escalation in the political race to the bottom. Ultimately, the author characterizes Prop 50 as trading long-term democratic health for short-term partisan advantage, describing the victory not as progress but merely as “ashes” in the wake of fighting fire with fire.
Different views on the topic
Supporters of Proposition 50 argue that California’s action represented a necessary and proportional response to President Trump’s direct manipulation of Texas redistricting, where the president explicitly pressured state leaders to redraw congressional lines to gain five Republican seats before the 2026 elections[1]. The measure reflects the will of California voters, who overwhelmingly approved the proposition in a special election, distinguishing it from the gerrymandering efforts undertaken by Republican-controlled states like Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri, which implemented new maps without seeking voter approval[2]. Proponents emphasize that Prop 50 is temporary, expiring in 2030 after the next census, and therefore represents a measured response rather than a permanent power grab[1]. Furthermore, supporters contend that gaining up to five seats could help Democrats control the House and counter Trump’s agenda on healthcare, immigration, and economic policy[1]. The measure also reaffirms California’s commitment to fair and independent redistricting while calling for nationwide adoption of nonpartisan redistricting commissions, positioning the state as championing democratic reform rather than merely engaging in partisan maneuvering[1]. Major institutional figures and organizations, including former President Barack Obama, sitting senators, labor unions, Planned Parenthood, and the NAACP, have endorsed Proposition 50, viewing it as a legitimate democratic tool in response to Republican election manipulation[1].
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
Why is California’s wildfire strategy wrong for SoCal? After massive blazes, the state changed its approach, but it only works for the north. Listen to find out what officials are doing wrong — and the surprising strategy they’re turning to next.
In 1990, UCLA student Ronald Baker was murdered in a railway tunnel. While his occult interests fueled “Satanic Panic” rumors, police found his killers knew him well — one had even carried his casket.
LA’s smog wasn’t from factories. A scientist studying pineapples found the real cause: cars. But no one wanted to believe him. Hear the full story on “Smoglandia.” Listen now.
