California Democrats, under the direction of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), are charging forward with their plan to carve up the state’s congressional districts to give them an edge in the midterm elections. 

The proposed changes, unveiled Friday and currently being debated in the state legislature, have been pitched as a temporary pause on California’s independent redistricting commission’s work that’s necessary to counter a push by Texas Republicans to change their districts at the behest of President Donald Trump.

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At stake is control of the House. Currently, Republicans have a seven-seat edge, with four vacancies.

California’s new map, which still has a long way to go before it’s approved, would turn three Republican-held seats into safe Democratic seats and two others into seats that lean Democratic. Republicans currently hold only nine of California’s 52 House seats.

In Northern California, the map would change districts held by Reps. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA). In the southern part of the state, Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Ken Calvert (R-CA) are at risk, and in the Central Valley, it would make getting reelected much harder for Rep. David Valadao (R-CA).

Republicans have vowed to fight back. On Tuesday, California Republican state lawmakers asked the California Supreme Court to delay key votes at the state Capitol, forcing Democrats to miss key deadlines.

Here is a closer look at the lawmakers in jeopardy. 

Doug LaMalfa, 1st Congressional District

LaMalfa’s rural district in the northeastern part of the state stretches north from Chico to the Oregon border. It would be redrawn toward Wine County to include Democratic voters in Santa Rosa.

Trump won the district by double digits in the last election, according to the Cook Political Report. 

LaMalfa recently made headlines for hosting a town hall in Chico that quickly devolved into a 90-minute shouting session. A crowd of more than 650 people at the local Elks Lodge slammed him for his vote on Trump’s budget bill, saying it would hurt vulnerable Californians and “devastate” rural hospitals.

LaMalfa tried to defend his record and that of Republicans in Congress, but was repeatedly met with a chorus of boos.

It was his first in-person town hall in Chico in eight years.

Kevin Kiley, 3rd Congressional District

Kiley’s district, which includes Sacramento suburbs to Lake Tahoe and runs south along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains, would be redrawn to include more Democratic voters in Sacramento.

His district currently has a +6 Republican advantage by voter registration, but that would flip to a +8 Democrat advantage under the new map, according to Fox News.

The congressman has already denounced the new districts and introduced a bill that would ban mid-decade redistricting. He also called on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to establish a bipartisan commission on redistricting reform.

Kiley has vowed to continue fighting, saying, “In California, voters, not Sacramento politicians, decide who wins elections.”

“Make no mistake, I will win reelection to the House regardless of the proposed changes to my district,” Kiley said. “But I fully expect that the beautiful 3rd District will remain exactly as it is. We will defeat Newsom’s sham initiative and vindicate the will of California voters.”

David Valadao, 22nd Congressional District

Winning Valadao’s seat in the southern Central Valley has been a longtime goal for Democrats. Even though it already has a slight Democratic advantage, the new map would give it an even bigger one by adding a section from Fresno County.

“It’s a shame that Governor Newsom and the radical Left in Sacramento are willing to spend $200 million on a statewide special election, while running a deficit of $20 billion, in order to silence the opposition in our state,” Valadao said in a statement. “As a Delegation, we will fight this disenfranchisement of California voters by whatever means necessary to ensure the will of the people continues to be reflected in redistricting and in our elections.”

He also said neither party should have the power to “rig maps to protect their own power.” 

Ken Calvert, 41st Congressional District

Calvert is the longest-serving Republican of California’s delegation and is in serious jeopardy of losing his seat. 

The 41st Congressional District, which stretches from Corona to Palm Springs, was once reliably conservative. However, under Newsom’s plan, it could include parts of Democrat-heavy Los Angeles County.

Last year, Calvert, who has held office for three decades, barely beat his previous challenger, Will Rollins, a Democratic former federal prosecutor.

Eight challengers are already lined up against him for next year’s midterm election. 
Calvert didn’t comment on how the redistricting proposal would specifically affect his district, but posted on social media that the plan undermines the state’s redistricting process.

“A bipartisan majority of Californians oppose efforts to eliminate our Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. It only adds insult to injury to ask taxpayers to pay hundreds of millions of dollars on a special election power grab that would wipeout the Commission’s work,” Calvert said on X.

Darrell Issa, 48th Congressional District

Under the proposed map, Issa’s district would move to lean Democratic, incorporating parts of Calvert’s district. It would move voters from the Coachella Valley into the eastern San Diego County district, giving Democrats a slight advantage. The tweaks might be enough to take out Issa, who was first elected to Congress in 2000, served until 2019, ran again in a new district, and was elected in 2020. Last year, he won reelection, defeating Democratic challenger Stephen Houlahan.

Issa has gained a lot of attention for his wide-ranging support of Trump. Issa endorsed Trump in 2016, supported Trump’s dismissal of former FBI Director James Comey, voted to reject the certification of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election, voted against impeaching Trump over the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, and voted against the creation of an independent commission to investigate the attack.

CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS START WORKING ON REDISTRICTING FIGHT

On Aug. 15, Issa reposted a post by Arnold Schwarzenegger of him working out in a black T-shirt that says “F*** THE POLITICIANS. TERMINATE GERRYMANDERING.”

Schwarzenegger posted, “I’m getting ready for the gerrymandering battle,” to which Issa replied, “He said he’s be back.”