Former President Barack Obama has thrown his support behind California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s cautious approach to redrawing congressional maps, positioning it as a measured counter to Republican-led efforts in Texas driven by President Donald Trump.
Speaking at a fundraiser on Martha’s Vineyard, Obama said he backs Newsom’s proposal to act only if Republican states pursue aggressive mid-decade redistricting. “I believe that Gov. Newsom’s approach is a responsible approach. He said this is going to be responsible. We’re not going to try to completely maximize it,” Obama noted, according to excerpts obtained by the Associated Press. “We’re only going to do it if and when Texas and/or other Republican states begin to pull these maneuvers. Otherwise, this doesn’t go into effect.”
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Obama acknowledged that “political gerrymandering” is not his “preference,” but warned Democrats against passivity. “If Democrats don’t respond effectively, then this White House and Republican-controlled state governments all across the country, they will not stop, because they do not appear to believe in this idea of an inclusive, expansive democracy.”
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The fundraiser brought in $2 million for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and its affiliates, a network involved in lawsuits against GOP-drawn maps. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Obama’s onetime attorney general, Eric Holder, now the group’s chair, also attended.
The timing of Obama’s remarks is significant, as Texas legislators reconvene in Austin to advance a map that could hand Republicans five additional U.S. House seats. The plan, encouraged by Trump, is aimed at securing GOP dominance ahead of next year’s elections. Texas Democrats briefly stalled the measure by leaving the state, denying Republicans a quorum for more than two weeks.
That Texas standoff has fueled interest among Democratic governors, including Newsom, in testing how far they can go in adjusting maps outside the regular post-Census cycle. In California, Democrats have floated a proposal that could net the party five more House seats, pushing their share to 48 out of 52. The move would weaken the GOP’s already shrinking influence in the state, though the plan requires voter approval in November.
Tensions flared this week when a legislative hearing on the measure turned confrontational, with Republicans accusing Democrats of power-grabbing. A committee advanced the map proposal along party lines, and Democratic leaders are expected to push through both the new map and a Nov. 4 special election within days.
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Newsom insists the plan is temporary, reverting to independent mapmaking after the 2030 census, and only if Republican states advance their own partisan maps. Obama endorsed that limited scope. “And we’re going to do it in a temporary basis because we’re keeping our eye on where we want to be long term,” he said. “I think that approach is a smart, measured approach, designed to address a very particular problem in a very particular moment in time.”
