Obama Reportedly Approves Of California’s Redistricting Plan

Topline

Former President Barack Obama approved of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to combat a Texas redistricting plan that could add five GOP seats in the U.S. House with California’s own redistricting, according to the Associated Press, calling the move “responsible” even though gerrymandering is not his “preference.”

Obama made the comments during a Tuesday fundraiser on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Obama made the comments during a Tuesday fundraiser on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, the Associated Press reported, noting Obama said Newsom’s redistricting plan, which would erase GOP gains made by Texas’ new congressional map, was a “responsible approach.”

Newsom thanked Obama for the support in a tweet, saying California “will redraw our maps and neutralize any attempts Donald Trump makes to steal Congressional seats.”

“We’re not going to try to completely maximize it,” Obama added, saying the California redistricting proposal would only be used “if and when Texas and/or other Republican states begin to pull these maneuvers.”

The former president said “political gerrymandering” was not his “preference,” according to the Associated Press, but said if Democrats do not respond to the GOP’s redistricting efforts, then the White House and other Republican state governments “will not stop, because they do not appear to believe in this idea of an inclusive, expansive democracy.”

Forbes has reached out to the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama for comment.

What To Watch For

California’s redistricting proposal will require voter approval to override the state’s independent redistricting commission, though state Democratic leaders indicate they support map-drawing power going back to the commission after the 2030 census. Obama lauded Newsom’s decision, saying “I think that approach is a smart, measured approach, designed to address a very particular problem in a very particular moment in time.” However, California’s process is not as simple as Texas’, as the red state’s legislature determines congressional boundaries.

Key Background

The Texas House will vote on its redistricting plan Wednesday after weeks of delays created by state Democrats who fled the state in early August to block the vote. The Democratic lawmakers, who returned to Texas this week from states like Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, argued the proposed map amounted to suppression against Black and Latino voters. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and state Attorney General Ken Paxton requested a court to vacate seats of some the Democrats who fled, with Abbott’s lawsuit slated to have final responses in by Sept. 4. California’s own redistricting proposal could nullify the seats gained by the GOP if Texas’ new congressional map goes through. Longtime Democratic pollster David Binder found 57% of California voters supported the redistricting measure, while 35% opposed it and 8% were undecided, according to Axios. The back and forth between Newsom and Abbott has provoked similar redistricting considerations from other states, including red states like Florida, Ohio and Missouri and blue states like New York and Maryland.