Obama backs California effort to redraw districts in response to Texas

Former President Barack Obama is supporting California’s mid-cycle redistricting effort as a “responsible approach” to Republicans drawing new maps in Texas.

Obama praised California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ballot measure proposal to redraw congressional districts and tilt at least five congressional districts in the state towards Democrats at a fundraiser on Tuesday for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

“I believe that Governor Newsom’s approach is a responsible approach,” he said, according to excerpts obtained by POLITICO. “I think that approach is a smart, measured approach, designed to address a very particular problem in a very particular moment in time.”

California Democrats are expected this week to allow voters to bypass an independent commission established by voters and decide whether to approve the new partisan maps for the next three election cycles in response to the Republican’s move in Texas.

Obama’s remarks comes as both parties in California gear up for what is expected to be a hard-fought campaign over the ballot initiative to redraw political boundaries in the state in response to President Donald Trump’s efforts to keep the House in Republican hands in the 2026 midterms.

The former president said redrawing the lines is “not my preference,” but that the Democratic-led effort in California is “responsible” in this context.

“We cannot unilaterally allow one of the two major parties to rig the game,” he said. “And California is one of the states that has the capacity to offset a large state like Texas.”

The Associated Press first reported Obama’s remarks.

Obama said he hopes that the NDRC and national Democrats will work to eliminate partisan gerrymandering as a “long-term goal,” but applauded Newsom’s response to the new Texas maps and Trump’s broader campaign to push other red states to draw new, more favorable maps.

“Given that Texas is taking direction from a partisan White House that is effectively saying: gerrymander for partisan purposes so we can maintain the House despite our unpopular policies, redistrict right in the middle of a decade between censuses — which is not how the system was designed; I have tremendous respect for how Governor Newsom has approached this,” he said.

Newsom thanked Obama for his support in a social media post and promised that California’s redistricting proposal will “neutralize any attempts Donald Trump makes to steal Congressional seats.”