This August, in a highly publicized political move, California Governor Gavin Newsom launched a legislative package and social media campaign to counter President Donald Trump’s gerrymandering efforts.
Gerrymandering, a political term for manipulating the boundaries of an electoral zone to favor one party, has recently become a key method in President Trump’s attempts to gather more Republican votes in the House, making it easier for the Republican party to push their favored policies.
In August, President Trump ordered Texas Governor Greg Abbott and state lawmakers to redraw congressional voting districts in the state, giving the Republicans an estimated 30 out of the 38 electoral votes in the 2026 midterm elections.
Newsom, along with Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), retaliated by introducing California Proposition 50, also known as the Election Rigging Response Act. They aim to counter the redrawing of Texas’s voting districts by temporarily reorganizing California to give Democrats more votes in the 2026, 2028, and 2030 national elections.
Proposition 50 would temporarily override the authority of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission for Congressional Elections until 2031.
The proposition would also add a statement to the state constitution declaring California’s policy to support independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions nationwide.
Proposition 50 will be on the Statewide Special Election ballot on November 4 of this year. According to Jackie Elward of the California State Assembly, 43% of Californians are against it.
In addition to a ballot proposition, Newsom has taken his efforts to social media, where he posts messages trolling President Trump. Recently, Newsom and his team have imitated Trump’s social media style, which uses all-caps posts and satirical exaggeration.
In a post about redistricting, Newsom’s press office used a MAGA-style tweet: “FINAL WARNING DONALD TRUMP – MAYBE THE MOST IMPORTANT WARNING IN HISTORY! STOP CHEATING OR CALIFORNIA WILL REDRAW THE MAPS. AND GUESS WHO WILL ANNOUNCE IT THIS WEEK? GAVIN NEWSOM (MANY SAY THE MOST LOVED & HANDSOME GOVERNOR) AND A VERY POWERFUL TEAM. DON’T MAKE US DO IT!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.”
On X, Newsom has even mimicked slogans often synonymous with the Trump administration, with a notable one being “Make the Maps Great Again!”
Chadwick history teacher Andrew Park said, “There’s not really been someone standing up to Trump, and so, in that case, I think Newsom has struck a chord.”
The California governor also appears unafraid to take direct jabs at President Trump and frequently calls out broken promises and executive branch overreach.
For example, following this summer’s protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, Newsom called out the deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles.
“I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command,” Newsom wrote in a post to X on June 8. “We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. [Trump’s authorization to mobilize 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles] is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed.”
While some, like San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, perceive Newsom’s social media strategy as nothing more than “political theater,” others, like Los Angeles-based Democratic strategist Kevin Liao, believe that there is value to the approach Newsom is using.
Newsom, who is widely believed to be a likely presidential candidate in the 2028 election, has put himself at the forefront of American policy by clashing with President Trump in such a public setting.
He is showing an ability to harness online platforms to frame national debates, reach younger voters, and position himself as a prominent Democratic voice on issues that extend beyond California.
“Gov. Newsom is recognizing the moment at a time when Democrats want a fighter,” Liao said. “There’s sort of an establishment approach of putting out strongly worded statements, but Newsom has recognized that isn’t cutting it anymore.”
“I see the way that California is trying to respond with Proposition 50, Missouri is already trying to change their election map, there’s pressure on Ohio and Florida [to do the same] … if this goes through, it would lead to a very openly partisan cold war as they each try to vie for influence through extremely illegitimate ways that detract from the democratic ideals of the nation,” senior Matthew Rosenbaum says.