California Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan to rewrite the state’s constitution in order to draw out five majority-Republican districts and benefit his own party is wildly unpopular with voters, a shocking new poll has found.
Last month, Newsom announced that California will be “retaliating” against GOP-led redistricting efforts in Texas, which successfully axed five majority-Democrat U.S. House districts if enacted. The California governor’s plan is controversial, as the new Texas maps will bring the state within the margin of California’s current maps, where Republicans control just 17 percent of available seats despite the fact that 40 percent of voters went Republican in 2024.
For comparison, the proposed Texas maps allow Democrats to control 21 percent of the available seats after receiving 42 percent of the vote. Newsom’s proposed changes — which will require an amendment to the state’s constitution and a special election in November — will leave just four Republican-controlled districts out of 52 total seats.
Voters do not appear to be buying Newsom’s claims of “election rigging” on the part of Texas Republicans, however, according to a new poll of 1,445 registered voters in California by the Citrin Center and Possibility Lab at UC Berkeley and Polotico.
The poll found that 64 percent of respondents favor the current system, while just 36 percent back the proposed redraw.
All in all, Newsom’s proposed gerrymandering plan is underwater by 28 points among California voters.
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“It’s not surprising, in the sense that California has voted twice for this independent review commission not all that long ago,” said Jack Citrin, a veteran political science professor at UC Berkeley and partner on the poll. “And there’s a lot of mistrust and cynicism about politicians and the Legislature. That’s reflected here as well.”
Independent respondents were most in favor of the current system, with 72 percent opposing the proposed changes. Support among Democrats and Republicans was about equal, however, with 66 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of Republicans expressing support for the independent redistricting commission.
“That surprised me a little bit, given that this is being pushed so heavily by Newsom and by the Democratic Party nationally that we have to combat Texas,” Citrin said.
California Democrats have claimed that they have no intention of doing away with the independent redistricting commission — which currently gives Republicans just 17 percent of the seats — entirely. “Instead, they plan to ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment that would put new maps approved by the Legislature in effect for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 election cycles,” Politico reported.
The independent panel would then resume its role as the state’s line-drawer after the 2030 census.
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