Overview

• Newsom’s office delivered a letter demanding that Trump call on Texas and other GOP-led states to halt mid-decade redistricting or face a California counter-map effort within 24 hours.
• The governor aims to secure supermajorities in the state legislature to place a November special-election measure on the ballot for new congressional maps covering 2026 through 2030.
• Texas Republicans’ effort to redraw five U.S. House districts remains stalled after Democratic lawmakers fled the state to block a quorum, triggering threats of fines and legal enforcement.
• Democratic governors in New York, Maryland and Illinois have signaled they could pursue their own off-cycle remaps if Texas finalizes its GOP-driven map.
• Experts warn that parallel legal challenges under the Voting Rights Act and tit-for-tat state retaliations could intensify a national battle over control of the narrowly divided House ahead of 2026.