Representative Tom McClintock, Republican of California, reportedly delivered sharp criticism of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push for a rare mid-decade redistricting effort, warning that the governor’s maneuver to redraw congressional lines is both politically motivated and doomed to fail.
Newsom has been pressing voters to approve a referendum that would bypass California’s independent redistricting commission, granting the Democratic-controlled legislature direct power to reconfigure the state’s congressional districts.
His stated justification comes in response to Texas Republicans, who, with the support of President Donald Trump, recently approved maps that would create five more favorable districts for GOP candidates.
Republicans currently hold a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Texas redistricting plan is widely seen as an attempt to expand that margin in the 2026 midterms.
California Democrats, under Newsom’s leadership, are now seeking to counteract that move by reshaping their own political map.
But McClintock, appearing on Fox News’s Fox Report Saturday, dismissed Newsom’s reasoning as political theater. When anchor Jon Scott quoted Newsom’s claim that “direct democracy…gives us a fighting chance to STOP Donald Trump’s election rigging,” McClintock fired back.
“That’s a ludicrous statement,” McClintock said. “The entire plan was drawn behind closed doors. The only reason the public gets to see the maps at all is that voters are required to bypass the commission and adopt them. I think that this is gonna end up being a huge headache for Newsom.”
McClintock argued that far from being a defensive measure against so-called “rigging,” the governor’s push is an overt attempt to manipulate California’s system for partisan gain.
By removing the state’s independent redistricting commission — a body created to prevent exactly this kind of political interference — Democrats would give themselves free rein to carve out safe districts for their candidates.
The California Republican went further, predicting that Newsom’s strategy will collapse under opposition not just from Republicans, but also from voices across the political spectrum.
“Already, liberal good government groups like the League of Women Voters are opposing it,” McClintock said. “Common initially opposed it and then withdrew its opposition under pressure. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has impeccable credentials among independent voters, is campaigning against it. And also, I think Californians are tiring of Gavin Newsom. So, I think he’s bitten off far more than he can chew.”
The unusual coalition against Newsom underscores the risk of overreach. Even groups traditionally aligned with Democrats, wary of undermining the state’s independent commission, are hesitant to embrace a raw political play that would concentrate more power in the legislature’s hands.
For McClintock, the matter is simple: Californians were promised an end to backroom gerrymandering when the commission was created, and voters are unlikely to reward a governor who tries to overturn that safeguard.
In a political climate where both parties are fighting fiercely over congressional maps, McClintock cast Newsom’s gamble as one that reveals weakness, not strength. “I think he’s bitten off far more than he can chew,” he repeated — a prediction that, if borne out, could deal Newsom a rare political defeat in his own state.
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