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CHICO, Calif. – Voting began this week for a statewide special election that would drastically alter California’s congressional map. Proposition 50, or Prop 50, could add as many as five Democratic-held seats in Congress in time for the 2026 midterms.
The measure asks California voters to temporarily allow the legislature to decide the state’s district maps through 2030, after which the power would return to the independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission. If Prop 50 wins, it could leave as a few as four Republican-held seats across the state after 2026.
Recent polling shows Prop 50 will likely pass. Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democrats say Prop 50 is a necessary countermeasure to Republican-led redistricting efforts in Texas.
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The entrance to California State University, Chico. (Amalia Roy)
However, UC Davis Professor Jim Adams warned a win for the Democrats in the short term could have negative long-term consequences.
“I think that even if Prop 50 does help the Democrats win a handful of additional seats in California, by winning the battle in California, the Democrats may make themselves lose the war nationally,” Adams told Fox.
Adams, a Democrat, said he agrees with Prop 50 supporters that he wants to see something done to curb Republican redistricting efforts in other parts of the country.
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“There is certainly a visceral satisfaction for the Democrats in feeling that Proposition 50 helps them to fight back. I don’t question the Democrats need to fight back. The question is, are they fighting smart with Proposition 50,” he added.
Prop 50 has the potential to spark political backlash, not only within California Republicans or independents in 2026, but on a national scale during the presidential election in 2028.
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