This week marked the start of voting for a special statewide election that could dramatically reshape California’s congressional districts. Proposition 50, or Prop 50, has the potential to add up to five seats held by Democrats in Congress by the time the 2026 midterms arrive.
The measure asks voters in California to permit the legislature to temporarily determine the state’s district maps through 2030. Afterward, the independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission would regain that power. If Prop 50 is approved, the number of Republican-held seats across the state could drop to as low as four after 2026.
According to recent polling data, Prop 50 is expected to pass. Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democrats argue that Prop 50 is a needed response to Republican-led redistricting initiatives in Texas.
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However, UC Davis Professor Jim Adams cautioned that a Democratic victory in the short run might lead to adverse effects in the long run.
“I think that even if Prop 50 does help the Democrats win a handful of additional seats in California, by winning the battle in California, the Democrats may make themselves lose the war nationally,” Adams told Fox.
Adams, a Democrat, stated that he shares the desire of Prop 50 supporters to address Republican redistricting efforts in other parts of the nation.
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“There is certainly a visceral satisfaction for the Democrats in feeling that Proposition 50 helps them to fight back. I don’t question the Democrats need to fight back. The question is, are they fighting smart with Proposition 50,” he added.
Prop 50 has the possibility of triggering a political backlash, not just among California Republicans or independents in 2026, but also nationally during the 2028 presidential election.
If Prop 50 is approved, California’s northern districts may shift from being predominantly Republican to entirely Democratic following the midterms.
Chico, California, is located in Republican-held District 1, which is represented by Rep. Doug LaMalfa and is among the districts targeted by Prop 50. The proposed map would likely cause the district to flip by incorporating voters from areas closer to the more Democratic-leaning Bay Area.
In 2024, President Donald Trump received approximately 3,000 more votes than then-Vice President Kamala Harris in Butte County. When voters were asked about their opinions on Prop 50 on the streets of downtown Chico, this political divide was evident.
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Don Tarman and Martin Bettencourt both voiced their support for the proposition, citing it as a response to Trump’s presidency.
“We agree with Gavin Newsom that Trump is trying to sway the election for the House. He picked up supposedly five votes in Texas. We’ll see how the vote comes out when we get to the election. But yeah, we’re not Trump fans. I think Gavin Newsom is trying to fight back a little bit,” Tarman said.
Bettencourt noted that while he generally opposes redistricting, he believes that “this is a different time.”
“I don’t like redistricting. I think it’s mean to the voters. I think they take away power from them, because they move it around and adjust it,” he said. “I think we’re in kind of a different time, so we’re reacting off the top of the ticket, which is the president, and we have to do what we have to do to compensate for that until we get someone better in a position of power.”
Jim Henderson and Eleanor Engelbrecht are among those who disagree with the proposition, both stating that redistricting in California is not an appropriate response to the actions in Texas.
“When say they do it in Iowa, then do we have to have Oregon do the same thing and the next thing you know everything is being gerrymandered? It’s unfortunate the governor of Texas didn’t recognize that this wasn’t an appropriate way of dealing with the elections, but he made his decision, and I don’t think we should feel compelled to say, well, if you’re gonna do it, we’re gonna do it also,” Henderson said.
Engelbrecht commented that the country is undergoing significant change and that things need to “settle.”
“Right now, we’re going through a lot of change already, and I don’t think this is the time we need to be, I don’t know, dusting and cleaning really. I think that we really need to let things settle. I think where our country is at right now, there’s a lot of divide already, and I think really this comes down to defending fair elections,” she said.
A legal challenge is likely if Prop 50 is approved. California Republicans are already in the process of filing lawsuits against the measure.
