State voters overwhelmingly back new maps; GOP files suit
U.S. Rep Sydney Kamlager-Dove was one of the many local Democrats celebrating Proposition 50’s victory in Nov. 4 balloting. She called the measure passage a ‘referendum on Donald Trump.’
Courtesy photo
Staff and Wire Reports
LOS ANGELES — Two members of Los Angeles’ congressional delegation were more than satisfied with the overwhelming passage of Proposition 50 Nov. 4.
What supporters dubbed “The Election Rigging Response Act,” was ahead by a 63.8%-36.2% margin with all election night precincts partially reporting, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, who represents California’s 37th District, said the resounding victory signified a resounding rejection of President Donald Trump and his conservative agenda.
“Seconds after the polls closed, the race is called. It is called a clap back,” she posted on Threads, an Instagram app. “Yes on 50. Period. This is what you call a m—–f—– referendum on Trump.
“I said what I said.”
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters of the 43rd District was equally celebrative. Speaking at an election night vote watch party in Inglewood, Waters said: “Let history reflect that on November 4, 2025, Democrats showed up in record numbers in California and voted Yes on Proposition 50.”
“The enthusiasm showed that the people of California were not about to allow Trump and the Texas Republicans to steal five seats in order to strengthen their control over the House of Representatives. Californians, who were led by Governor Gavin Newsom, said in no uncertain terms, that if they can do it, we can do it too,” Waters added.
“We organized, we respected our commissioners, we made our Proposition 50 temporary. This one-time vote will ensure that we do not get disrespected, our voices are not disregarded, and that we don’t’ give in to Trump and his right-wing Republicans.
“Not only did we win in California, but we won governor houses, we won mayoral races, we won in state and local elections,” Waters continued. “We swept this country proving that Democrats are on the move to save this country from Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans. I was pleased watching television programs that reveled the numbers not just of Prop. 50 but also of election results with wins for Democrats all over this country. We have absolutely proceeded in a way we understand to be just and we believe thoroughly that when we fight, we win.
Newsom, who conceived of what would become Proposition 50 after Texas adopted a mid-decade congressional redistricting plan favorable to Republicans, called its passage, “not just a victory for the Democratic Party, it was a victory for the United States of America, for the people of this country and the principles that our Founding Fathers lived and died for.”
Proposition 50 establishes new congressional district maps for the 2026 midterm elections that will also be used for the 2028 and 2030 elections. An analysis by the election news website Ballotpedia said it would shift five Republican-held congressional districts toward Democrats.
Democrats currently hold a 43-9 advantage in the state’s House delegation.
The measure came in response to an effort in Texas for a mid-decade congressional redistricting that analysts said would give Republicans five additional seats. Other Republican-controlled states such as Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nebraska and South Carolina are also considering efforts to approve mid-decade redistricting.
Backers of the measure say it “draws fair maps that represent California’s diverse communities and ensure our voices aren’t silenced by Republican gerrymandering in other states.”
Republican reacted to the passage of Proposition 50 by filing a federal lawsuit Nov. 5 challenging the constitutionality of the measure.
Assemblyman David Tangipa, R-Fresno, the California Republican Party, and 18 district voters brought the lawsuit, which asks a judge to block the new district lines at least temporarily so California’s original map stays in effect for the 2026 midterm elections.
The suit, which also names California Secretary of State Shirley Weber as a defendant, argues that the new Proposition 50 maps are unconstitutional because they improperly use voters’ race as a factor in drawing districts and asks the court to block them from taking effect.
“Proposition 50 represents a mid-decade redistricting, precisely the kind of legislative interference that the California Constitution was designed to prevent,” the 26-page complaint contended. “It attempts to substitute a legislative map for the one lawfully adopted by the (state redistricting) commission, without any intervening census or constitutional authorization. “It attempts to create a third option way for legislators to interpose themselves on a process in which they otherwise were barred from participating in.”
“I’m appalled by what has happened — what the Legislature really pushed through, what the governor has done to violate and break the Constitution,” Tangipa said at a Nov. 5 news conference announcing the lawsuit. “And when I said that the fight for California has just begun, I hope everybody knows I meant that.”
Other Democrats were quick to applaud the passage of Proposition 50.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is running for governor next year, said “the people of California voted to reaffirm our commitment to the American democracy, voting to make it clear that we won’t just stand by as Donald Trump and Republicans blatantly rig the 2026 elections to maintain their grip on power.”
“While Republican-led states like Texas, Ohio, and others are redrawing congressional maps behind closed doors, California let the voters decide,” he added. “With this vote, Californians made clear that we will fight for free and fair elections.
Across the country, from Virginia, Pennsylvania to New Jersey and California, voters overwhelmingly rejected the politics of Donald Trump and the Republicans who are enabling him to dismantle our country.”
Derrick Johnson, national president of the NAACP, said the election proved that voters would not be silenced.
“From the passage of California’s Proposition 50 to major victories in Virginia, New Jersey and Michigan, this election proved that when fairness is on the ballot, the people win,” Johnson said.
“But our work is far from over. Americans are suffering under this administration’s policies of cruelty — from an economy in decline to attacks on affordable health care and food access,” he added. “That’s why we’re already focused on 2026, mobilizing voters and pushing for policies that uplift all communities. Together, we’re proving that democracy only works when we do.”
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said “When Donald Trump started ordering his Republican lackeys to save his fading power by rigging the midterms, he didn’t realize he’d be up against a new Democratic Party.”
“We don’t roll over when one team refuses to play by the rules. We fight back,” Martin added. “Trump got his showdown, and tonight, we met him in the arena. Californians stood up, rallied together, and passed Proposition 50 to make sure voters — not Donald Trump — decide who represents them in Congress.”
Mike Columbo, a plaintiffs’ attorney in the federal lawsuit filed against Proposition 50, said the proposition will be found unconstitutional, because the Legislature had no legal basis to move forward with a redistricting effort.
“The record we have establishes that … before the maps were voted upon and after, analyses were conducted that concluded that there was no voting rights problem in California’s prior maps for the Legislature to remedy,” he said. “Further, there is no evidence whatsoever that the California Legislature in fact circulated any such analysis to the legislators for them to
consider when they cast their votes to launch Proposition 50.”
