Overview

• At the state GOP convention, party leaders diverged over messaging, with Corrin Rankin, Will O’Neill, and Johanna Lassaga urging a map-focused, non-Newsom approach to appeal to independents.
• Jessica Millan Patterson and Assemblyman David Tangipa back an explicit anti-Newsom strategy, branding the campaign “Stop Newsom’s Power Grab” to energize Republican turnout.
• Gov. Gavin Newsom frames the initiative as a stand against President Donald Trump and for democracy, and his campaign features Trump prominently in promoting the measure.
• A UC Irvine survey cited a jump in Newsom’s in‑state approval from 38% to 56% after his clash with the Trump administration, while a Yahoo‑YouGov poll put his national net approval at -9 compared with Trump’s -14.
• Republicans warn the plan could cost them as many as five U.S. House seats, with Rep. Kevin Kiley opposing mid‑decade remaps and some activists calling the prospect a “guillotine” for the state party.