California Governor Gavin Newsom mocked Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz for his terrible basic math skills after Cruz deleted a tweet complaining about redistricting that contained an awkward addition error.
Redistricting has taken center stage since Texas Democrats fled the state to avoid voting on a new heavily-gerrymandered redistricting map and to deny their GOP colleagues a quorum, the minimum number of lawmakers required to conduct legislative business.
Under the newly proposed map, Republicans would gain five additional seats after the 2026 midterm elections—making it significantly more difficult for Democrats to reclaim the majority and potentially counter Trump’s legislative priorities. Most members traveled to Democratic-led states like Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts.
Amid the clash, Newsom called for a special election this November to let voters decide whether lawmakers should redraw congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterms.
He framed it as an emergency response to the Texas plan that Donald Trump has championed. Trump claimed it’s necessary because he “got the highest vote in the history of Texas” and is therefore “entitled to five more seats.”
Cruz later followed up that news with the following since-deleted tweet:
“If California gerrymanders from its current 43-9 Dem advantage (83%) to a 51-0 Dem advantage (100%)…then Texas should go from a 24-14 GOP advantage (63%) to 38-0 (100%).
You can see Cruz’s post below.
@tedcruz/X; @ZavalaA/X
Cruz’s math is way off, which Newsom pointed out in a response to Cruz’s tweet:
“43+9=52. 51+0=51. Please learn math.”
You can see Newsom’s post below.
@GavinNewsom/X
Later, Newsom drew attention to Cruz’s deleted tweet in the following post bringing up the time Cruz went on holiday to Cancún instead of being there for his constituents during the 2021 Texas winter storm and power disaster that cost hundreds of lives:
“Ted Cruz treating his posts like Cancun: Gets caught, then disappears.”
You can see Newsom’s post below.
Cruz was mocked profusely.
Some Texas Democrats are expected to head home as soon as this weekend, saying their out-of-state stay has successfully drawn national attention to the fight over redistricting. They say some made the choice after learning of California’s countermeasure.
California Democrats—who currently hold 43 of the state’s 52 congressional seats—have yet to unveil a detailed proposal or say how many additional seats they hope to gain. Newsom made clear the revised district boundaries would be released in the coming days.
Newsom rolled out the plan, which he dubbed the “Election Rigging Response Act,” alongside a coalition of Democratic leaders, and urged Congress to adopt federal safeguards against political interference in the drawing of voting maps.
