Former President Barack Obama on Wednesday said he respects California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push for a redistricting plan to add more Democratic seats in the blue state.
“I believe that Gov. Newsom’s approach is a responsible approach. He said this is going to be responsible. We’re not going to try to completely maximize it,” Obama said at a fundraiser Tuesday on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, according to excerpts obtained by The Associated Press.
“We’re only going to do it if and when Texas and/or other Republican states begin to pull these maneuvers. Otherwise, this doesn’t go into effect,” he added.
In a post Wednesday on X, Obama said gerrymandering shouldn’t be a part of politics. Instead, it should be a “fair fight” between Republicans and Democrats based on the competition of ideas.
Changes in Texas and California’s House seats could shift control of Congress in 2026. Some analysts say Democrats could pick up as many as five additional seats in California if Newsom’s plan succeeds, potentially canceling out Republican gains in Texas.
The plan by Newsom is intended to counter a move by Texas over congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
In Austin, the GOP-dominated state House of Representatives last week resumed meeting at a second straight special session called by conservative Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
But Republicans in the Texas House were prevented from holding votes on a new map for two weeks when dozens of Democratic state representatives fled the state to deny the GOP a quorum in the Texas House.
“Since Texas is taking direction from a partisan White House and gerrymandering in the middle of a decade to try and maintain the House despite their unpopular policies, I have tremendous respect for how Governor Newsom has approached this,” Obama wrote on X.
The former commander in chief said Newsom put forward a “smart, measured approach” designed to address “a very particular problem at a very particular moment in time.”
Newsom is moving to hold a special election this year to get voter approval to undo the constitutional amendments that created the nonpartisan redistricting commission, Fox News Digital previously reported.
