Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris and a number of other California Democrats rallied their supporters Saturday to maintain their enthusiasm for passing a ballot measure to redraw the state’s House districts ahead of the midterm elections.
Although polls suggest Prop. 50 is likely to pass Tuesday, volunteers will need to continue knocking on doors, doing phone banking and motivating voters until Election Day, they said. Newsom told volunteers they should follow the sprinter model and leave everything to the field.
“We can’t afford to run the 90-yard dash. Angelenos, the Olympics are coming in 2028. They don’t do the 90-yard dash. They run the 110-yard dash. On Election Day we have to culminate,” Newsom told hundreds of supporters at the convention center in downtown Los Angeles. “We cannot take anything for granted.”
Hours earlier, Republicans voiced their opposition to the voting system at John Wayne Park in Newport Beach, then sent teams into nearby neighborhoods to gather votes for their side.
“What Prop. 50 does is disenfranchise, and it ignores every Republican in the state of California,” said state Rep. Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach). “Ninety percent of the six million (California Republicans) will be disenfranchised.”
Proposition 50 aims to increase the number of Democrats in Congress. The effort was proposed by Newsom and other California Democrats in hopes of slowing President Trump’s push in Texas and other Republican-led states to increase the number of Republicans elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections. But even if voters approve a ballot measure that could flip five California districts currently represented by Republicans, it’s unclear whether that would be enough to shift control of the House unless there is a blue wave in the 2026 election.
The party that wins the House majority will define President Trump’s final two years in the White House, determining whether he can continue implementing his policies or face a flurry of investigations and possibly another impeachment attempt.
The special election is one of the most expensive ballot measures in state history. Comments have been flowing into various election commissions since the state Legislature voted to put the proposal on the ballot in August. Supporters of redistricting efforts raised exponentially more money than opponents.
As of Friday, more than a quarter of the state’s 23 million registered voters had cast a ballot, with Democrats outnumbering Republicans.
Newsom was joined Saturday by Harris, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and other Democrats and labor leaders.
Harris made a surprise appearance at the rally and claimed that the Trump administration was carrying out longstanding Republican goals such as voter suppression.
“This fight is not one where we sit on the sidelines and complain, ‘Oh, they’re cheating,'” the former vice president said. “It’s about recognizing what they’re trying to do. I know what we’re seeing is a seemingly chaotic agenda, but what we’re actually seeing is a high-velocity event where we’re rapidly implementing plans that have been decades in the making.”
Speakers cited immigration raids that began in Los Angeles in June, as well as deep cuts to federal safety nets such as nutritional assistance programs for low-income families and health insurance for the elderly and disabled.
“We know there’s so much at stake this Tuesday. And just to be clear, Tuesday is not Election Day. It’s the last day to vote,” Padilla said. “Don’t wait until Tuesday. Everyone, turn in your ballot. The polls look good, but on Tuesday the nation’s attention will be on California, so we’ve got to score on this. And we need to win, and we need to win big.”
Padilla, a typically down-to-earth congressman, then offered a riff adapted from lyrics by Ice Cube, a rapper who grew up in South Los Angeles.
“Donald Trump, you better check yourself before you destroy America,” said Padilla, who is considering a run for governor next year.
About 80 miles to the southeast, about 50 Republican lawmakers refueled over coffee and donuts, rallying together to overcome the good weather and annoyance at Newsom’s attempt to redraw California’s congressional districts.
Orange County Republican Party Chairman Will O’Neill likened this final push against Prop. 50 to Game 7 of the California Republican Party, Friday night’s World Series battle between the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.
“Orange County is currently the only county in Southern California that votes more Republicans than Democrats,” O’Neill said. “Over the next three days, we expect about 70% of voters to vote no on 50. But we need them to vote.”
O’Neill called the move a “bipartisan power grab.” If passed, Prop. 50 would weaken the Republican Party’s power in Orange County by dividing communities and locking some residents into districts represented by Los Angeles County politicians.
Dixon also called on volunteers, including several college students from around the state, to “be polite. Just say thank you, really. Like Charlie Kirk would do. Don’t (incite) arguments. Just be friendly.”
“They’re squeezing out what little representation Republicans have in the state,” said Kristen Nicole Valle, president of Orange County Young Republicans.
“If Proposition 50 passes, we will no longer have input from 40% of Californians.”
Randall Avila, executive director of the Orange County Republican Party, said the measure disenfranchises Latino Republican voters like himself.
Nationally, Trump succeeded in capturing 48%(a) of the Latino vote, which proved critical to his second presidential victory.
“Clearly, our community seems to have indicated that if our elected officials and their political parties are not serving us, we are willing to change parties and move in a different direction,” Avila said. “So it’s unfortunate that some of these voices are going to be silenced by a predetermined winner within the district.”
Avila said all hope is not lost for Republicans if Prop. 50 is approved. Republicans could pick up several seats, including districts held by Rep. Dave Ming (D-Irvine) and Rep. Derek Tran (D-Orange).
“Even if the line changes, that doesn’t mean we’re going to pack up and go home,” he said. “That means we regroup, reconfigure things, and keep fighting.”
