Newsom loves his lame redistricting campaign. How do Californians feel? | Opinion

Gov. Gavin Newsom is so thirsty for attention it’s sad. Though Newsom has spent his entire six years begging national media to feed his White House fantasies, he’s kicked it into fifth gear recently. For the past few weeks, Newsom has been laser focused on inserting himself into news about a mid-decade redistricting plan in Texas that would draw out Democratic members and presumably increase the Republican House majority. Texas’ plan is an abomination. It’s an egregious abuse of power. So, naturally, Newsom wants to impersonate it. Newsom has repeatedly called the Texas plan a threat to democracy. Yet, at the same time, he has called for his own version of mid-decade redistricting in California that would presumably eliminate several members of the Republican congressional delegation. But if it’s a threat to democracy in Texas, then it’s a threat to democracy in California, right? Newsom doesn’t care. He’s shopping for drapes that look the most presidential, guided by the belief that in order to save democracy, he must first destroy it.

It’s hard to imagine Texas redistricting affecting the daily lives of Californians in any meaningful way, but that’s really beside the point.

A homelessness crisis, a fentanyl overdose crisis, a housing crisis, an affordability crisis, an energy crisis, an education crisis and a wildfire crisis. Crises abound in California, yet Newsom is concerned with Texas’ congressional maps.

Newsom: Whatever you want him to be

The truth is that Newsom saw in polling that Democrats want a fighter. And he wants to be whatever you want him to be — as long as whatever you want him to be is president.

Someone on X asked me: “If someone shoots at you and you shoot back are you imitating them?” Yes, that’s exactly what that means. Some would argue that shooting back is actually self defense, but no one is shooting anyone. Texas’ proposed move, while completely inappropriate, is not a mortal threat (as much as Newsom and congressional Democrats would like to make it out to be). Newsom’s plan is most likely a bluff: Victory for Newsom would be if his California threat makes Texas abort its plan. He knows if his redistricting effort moves forward it is likely to fail. The timeline is difficult — Newsom wants to move forward in weeks. The Pollyanna belief that politicians will put aside their ambitions to agree to a rushed plan is also unrealistic (we will see if legislative Democrats can set aside their alleged concerns about saving democracy and fall in line behind this undemocratic plan and tweak election laws to suit their needs).

It’s also a big gamble to think that California voters — who overwhelmingly chose to take redistricting out of the hands of ambitious politicians — will go along with this. And then there will be legal challenges with merit. A lot needs to go right for this to affect the 2026 midterms, and I’m skeptical it all will. That’s a good thing, especially if you hate what Texas is considering. Letting Texas stand alone as a national embarrassment is a good strategy. But joining it in a race to the bottom is a lousy strategy, especially when this whole thing is just to satisfy one man’s obsession with himself: Newsom. Matt Fleming is an opinion writer living in Placer County. He is a former Republican staffer and spokesperson. You can follow him on X @Flemingwords or connect via email: flemingwords@gmail.com

This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 6:00 AM.