Gavin Newsom Redistricting Campaign Raises $6.2 Million as Plan Moves to Special Election

Gov. Gavin Newsom raised over $6.2 million online from 200,000 donors just one week after he launched his state redistricting campaign ahead of a Nov. 4 special election.

The California governor announced he received more than 200,000 individual donations to the fight to redraw California’s congressional maps in response to Texas’ gerrymandered state maps, redrawn in favor of the Republicans under President Donald Trump directive.

“Over $6 million dollars and 200,000 donations in one week,” Newsom wrote in a post on X Thursday. “California and the nation are ready for this fight. Look out, Donald Trump. Your election rigging scheme is about to fall apart.”

That same afternoon, California Democrats approved a sweeping redistricting map to elect more lawmakers to the party. Newsom signed the bill and now it awaits the November vote. These new maps serve as a counter to the gerrymandered map that Republicans in Texas have also brought forward at Trump’s request. Texas’ changes will not be approved by registered voters in the state and will instead by implemented directly by lawmakers.

Newsom has branded the redistricting efforts as the “Election Rigging Response Act.” The new maps aim to create five new Democratic seats and four swing seats in the state. Nationwide Democrats see the remapping issue as the first battle of the 2026 midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.

Under the proposed Nov. 4 ballot measure, the redrawn districts would be in effect for House races in 2026, 2028 and 2030 and would then revert to the independent redistricting commission to decide on what would be fair. Typically, redistricting occurs once a decade in line with the census.

Republicans currently control the House of Representatives, but if it changed hands to the Democrats, the party has expressed it would be a way to power check Trump throughout the second half of his term.

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