Prop. 50 win is big for California Gov. Newsom and a rebuke of Donald Trump | Opinion
The decisive success of Proposition 50 Tuesday night sent a clear message from California to President Donald Trump that some Americans won’t be bullied into submission by him or anyone supporting him.
A count of early returns by the California Secretary of State’s Office had more than 65% of early ballots in favor of Proposition 50.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom gambled on a truly risky proposition by trying to convince voters that Trump’s decree to gerrymander Texas congressional districts called for an unprecedented response by California to redistrict our state in a special election — by “fighting fire with fire,” as Newsom put it in a meeting with the McClatchy California Editorial Board last month.
Trump ordered Texas to redistrict earlier this year in a blatant attempt to keep the GOP’s control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections. Congressional Democrats would only need to gain three seats for control, while Trump’s efforts in Texas could give Republicans an additional five seats.
“Failure is not an option,” Newsom said. “I believe the people of this state know what is at stake. The President of the United States is putting a stake through the hearts of our Founding Fathers and the enduring values many of us have taken for granted for 249 years.”
California, which is legally required to redistrict every decade by an independent commission, must take it to the voters to change any part of that process.
That’s exactly what Prop. 50 asked, and voters on Tuesday resoundingly agreed. There is no finer example of the nation’s democratic process than our leaders seeking permission before taking action, and making their case to the people for their consent.
Trump and his cronies in Texas, who unilaterally changed that state’s districts without any input from the voters, would do well to observe the power and strength of democratic elections in states that have respect for the voting process.
Instead, Trump spent Tuesday posting lies on TruthSocial about California’s election process.
Trump claimed it was “unconstitutional” and a “giant scam” that “is under very serious legal and criminal review.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also told reporters it was “a fact” that there is fraud in California elections, but refused to show any evidence.
On his own X account, Newsom called those claims “the ramblings of an old man that knows he’s about to LOSE.”
But Tuesday’s election wasn’t just about California, it was also a referendum on Newsom as a potential presidential candidate. The outspoken Democratic governor, whose term ends in 2027, put the full weight of his support behind Prop. 50. Approval ratings for Trump in the weeks before Election Day tanked to just 26% of Californian adults, according to the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, while Newsom’s shot up to 54%, statewide. (Nationally, the president’s approval rating is around 41%, according to a Gallup poll.)
The campaign for Yes on Prop. 50 — and now its success — has given Newsom national name-recognition and put him at center stage for a presidential campaign in 2028… should he ever decide to announce.
Tuesday’s many wins bode extremely well for Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections, and for turning the tables on Trump. California’s approval of Prop. 50, Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York City mayoral race and the night’s early win for Abigail Spanberger for governor of Virginia made Election Night perhaps the first happy night in a year for many Americans who have felt defeated and depressed since Trump’s victory last November.
Despite Trump’s best attempts to spread misinformation about mail-in ballots, despite his attempts to intimidate in-person voters at polling places with “federal watchers,” or his press secretary’s many lies — Californians went to the polls and made their voices heard.
There is nothing more American than that.
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 9:30 PM.
