California Governor Gavin Newsom Celebrates Victory in Texas
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s victory lap over the passage of Proposition 50 reached Texas on Saturday, days after his state greenlit his plan to blunt Gov. Greg Abbott’s redistricting effort to get more Texas Republicans in Congress. Newsom greeted the crowd after a "Take It Back" rally on Nov. 8, 2025, in Houston.
Newsom’s Plan to Offset Texas’ GOP Gains
Before Newsom could start speaking during his brief stop at a rally in Houston, the crowd of around 800 Democrats took the chance to yell out "thank you," and he returned the sentiment. "You woke us up," Newsom said, referring to Democrats’ resistance to redistricting. "You didn’t just have your back here, you had our back in the state of California." After Abbott signed a new congressional map in August that was redrawn to maximize the state’s Republican representation in Washington D.C., amid pressure from President Donald Trump, Newsom pitched an idea to voters to offset Texas’ GOP gains with additional Democratic seats in California.
Proposition 50: A Big Win for Newsom
California voters overwhelmingly supported Proposition 50 on Tuesday, a plan Newsom crafted to directly target Texas’ new congressional map. The ballot measure cleared the way for Newsom to allow the legislature to approve the Golden State’s redrawn congressional districts to carve out five more Democratic seats. Abbott bypassed that step, putting it up to the state’s lawmakers to decide on a new map without voter’s permission. The California ballot measure passed with nearly 64% of the vote, and its decisive approval is a big win for Newsom, who is considering a presidential bid in 2028.
Reaction from Democrats in Texas
Saturday’s crowd celebrated with Newsom, including 18-year-old Ben Webb of Cypress, a northwest suburb of Houston. "He did it with voter approval, which Greg Abbott didn’t do," said Webb, who recently became a registered voter. "So I would say that’s an even bigger political win." Webb’s friend, Thomas Mitschke, who is also 18, echoed that sentiment. "He took it to the voters instead of just doing it like Greg Abbott and kind of just jamming it in without voter approval," Mitschke said. "That’s how democracy is supposed to work."
Texas’ New Congressional District Lines
Texas’ new congressional district lines have the potential to boost the GOP’s footing in Congress by squeezing more Democratic voters in Houston and Dallas into districts the minority party already controls — a strategy known as "packing." It also "cracks" left-leaning communities by splitting voters who supported Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024 into Republican districts, according to an analysis by The Texas Tribune. For example, the 9th Congressional District in Southwest Houston, represented by Congressman Al Green, went from voting for Kamala Harris in 2024 by 44 percentage points to one that Trump would have carried by a 20-point margin under the new lines.
Newsom’s Plan to Take Back the House
Newsom’s plan to blunt Abbott’s effort was a long shot. Bob Shrum, a veteran Democratic consultant who leads the Center for the Political Future at the University of Southern California, told the Guardian that Newsom took a big gamble on Prop 50 — and it paid off. Newsom isn’t stopping with California. He’s encouraging other governors in blue states, such as Illinois and New York, to follow his lead and push back against Trump’s effort to hold onto a Republican-controlled Congress. "We cannot rest," Newsom said on Saturday before heading to Brazil for a conference, "until we take back the House of Representatives."
Conclusion
In conclusion, California Governor Gavin Newsom’s victory in Texas is a significant win for Democrats, and his plan to offset Texas’ GOP gains has sparked a new wave of resistance against redistricting efforts. With the passage of Proposition 50, Newsom has shown that he is willing to take bold action to protect Democratic seats and push back against Republican efforts to gain control of Congress. As Newsom continues to encourage other governors to follow his lead, it will be interesting to see how this development plays out in the upcoming elections and the future of American politics.
