(The Center Square) – Democratic lawmakers reacted on Monday to Republican congressional members’ effort to push back on the congressional redistricting election with a lawsuit.
Democrats also talked about efforts that seemed destined to end the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history.
Democrats in California expressed confidence in Proposition 50, the measure to redraw congressional districts to pick up five Democrats seats in the 2026 midterm election.
“I have full confidence in the legality of Prop. 50,” Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D-San Luis Obispo, told The Center Square. “Prop. 50 is crafted as one of those most transparent election laws in the nation. It’s very transparent when it comes to redistricting. Voters knew exactly what they would be voting on.”
Prop. 50, the only statewide measure on the Nov. 4 ballot, passed with 64.1% of the vote, according to the California Secretary of State’s office. In raw numbers, 6,582,022 California voters voted for Prop. 50, while 3,692,940 California voters voted against it.
Usually, redistricting is done by the state’s Citizens Redistricting Commission, which draws legislative district and congressional district lines after the release of the U.S. census every decade.
However, Texas pushed to do its own mid-decade redistricting effort, giving congressional Republicans the opportunity to pick up five more seats in the 2026 midterms. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has previously accused Republican President Donald Trump of pressuring Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, to redraw the Lone Star State’s congressional districts. Newsom and his fellow Democrats who hold supermajorities in the California Legislature responded with Prop. 50.
“We stood firm in response to Donald Trump’s recklessness,” Newsom said during a news conference on the night of Nov. 4. “And tonight, after poking the bear, this bear roared.”
Democratic legislators in California voiced excitement over the passage of Prop. 50, releasing statements on social media after results started rolling in on Nov. 4.
“Californians have sent a clear message with the passage of Prop 50 – when democracy is under attack, we will stand up and fight back,” said Sen. Jesse Arreguin, D-Oakland. “I am grateful to Californians who have used their voice and vote to object to Trump’s attempts to rig elections.”
But the measure was criticized by the five Republican representatives in the U.S. House who stand to lose their seats because of Prop. 50’s new districts favoring Democrats. In fact, those congressmen – U.S. Reps. Ken Calvert of Palm Desert, Darrell Issa of Santee, Kevin Kiley of Rocklin, Doug LaMalfa of Yuba City and David Valadao of Bakersfield – filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California over the special election.
They and other Republican lawmakers asked in the lawsuit that the court invalidate the newly-approved congressional district map.
Democratic congressional representatives were not available by press time on Monday.
Democrats react to end of government shutdown
Democratic lawmakers also released responses on Monday reacting to the impending end of the federal government shutdown, which was in its 41st day Monday. Seven Democratic congressional representatives and one independent who caucuses with Democrats joined the Republican majority to end the shutdown after the GOP promised to guarantee a vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits and reverse Trump administration layoffs during the shutdown. The 60-40 vote Sunday night was on the first of the bills to reopen the government. The revised legislation will go back to the House for its vote.
The continuing resolution is designed to fund the federal government through the end of the year.
“House Democrats have been clear from day one: We need a bipartisan deal that funds the government and addresses the health care crisis Republicans created with their Big Ugly Law,” wrote U.S. Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino, in a statement released on Facebook on Nov. 9. “The bill the Senate is taking up does not fix the health care crisis or make life more affordable for Americans across the country.”
Aguilar added in the statement, “That’s why I’m voting no.”
Other congressional Democrats reacted on social media, noting that Democrats giving in to Republicans to strike a deal would drive up health care costs for many Americans.
“The Senate deal fails the American people,” wrote U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Thousand Oaks, in her Nov. 9 statement on Facebook. “It does nothing to make health care more affordable for families who are already struggling with high costs and nothing to protect the millions of Americans at risk of losing their coverage.”
Newsom also reacted on Monday to those eight Democratic Caucus members breaking with the party, saying the move was a “betrayal” and accusing them of capitulating to the demands of Congressional Republicans, according to Newsweek.
In California, state lawmakers have said they are worried that the deal now on the table to keep the government open, ultimately, isn’t going to effective for low-income communities.
“I have severe doubts about that,” Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, D-Santa Cruz, told The Center Square on Monday afternoon. “We need to really hold this party accountable now and get them to take the action now and to meet their commitment to take care of the people of the United States now. I don’t trust that it’s going to happen later.”
