LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The fight President Trump started for control of Congress is fully underway. The Texas Senate plans to vote on a redistricting map today. It's a plan that's already passed the House there and would give Republicans the edge on five more seats.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
And California is reacting. The Democratic governor there, Gavin Newsom, posted, it's on, on social media Wednesday. He signed two bills passed by the Democratic-led legislature Thursday that would pave the way to a redistricting plan of their own. One that would give Democrats the edge on more seats in the House. But that's only if California voters approve it in a special election.
FADEL: Laura Fitzgerald is a political reporter with CapRadio in Sacramento, who has been following this story. Good morning, Laura.
LAURA FITZGERALD, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: OK, so now that the governor and the legislature have gotten their work on this plan done, what are you watching for next?
FITZGERALD: Well, California's redistricting process is going to look a lot different than how it looks in Texas. Here we have an independent commission of citizens that redraws political lines instead of politicians. So voters here have to decide whether we can bypass that commission through 2030 and let this new map, which has been drawn to the Democratic advantage, take effect. And as you mentioned, Leila, the Texas proposal, Republicans advanced their own mid-decade map, and the House approved it this week. The Senate is expected to take it up Friday, and it does appear that that's going to pass.
FADEL: And when do voters in California decide whether they'll allow this?
FITZGERALD: November 4, that is when Governor Gavin Newsom is called for the special election. Now that this proposal is out of the legislature's hands, Democrats here have to convince voters to vote to let them carry out this redistricting plan. The governor even talked about that at a press conference yesterday.
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GAVIN NEWSOM: We have a lot more work to do to get this done November 4.
FITZGERALD: And that happened almost immediately after he signed the bills yesterday. Newsom and other Democrats went straight to the state Democratic Party headquarters near the capital in Sacramento to hold the press event for the campaign side of things.
FADEL: OK, so that's what Democrats are doing and saying in California. What about Republicans?
FITZGERALD: I've heard a lot of Republicans say that they want to get out and campaign against this measure. They've already tried to sue. That was blocked by court. They could try again, but across the board, this new map could really shake things up. Republican representatives in these redrawn congressional districts will face much more difficult reelections in 2026. But ultimately, this map could mean California's Republican delegation to the U.S. House is just four people.
FADEL: Do you have any sense of how voters might vote on this issue?
FITZGERALD: Well, there's a mix of polling out there right now and even more underway, but it's still very early. I actually asked Matt Rexroad this exact question. He's a Republican political consultant and redistricting expert here in California. He told me the special election is about a lot more than redrawn lines.
MATT REXROAD: This election is not going to be decided on redistricting. I personally love redistricting. I wish people would talk about it all the time. But the issue that voters are going to vote on in this election will be, do you support President Trump, or do you support Gavin Newsom?
FITZGERALD: Rexroad here, he's referring to the fact that Newsom is widely seen as someone who might have national aspirations. So as this campaign develops over the coming weeks, it'll be really interesting to see what kind of political tone this redistricting measure takes on, both with California politicians and with voters.
FADEL: Laura Fitzgerald, political reporter with CapRadio in Sacramento. Thank you for your reporting, Laura.
FITZGERALD: Thank you, Leila. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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