California Democrats released their plans to transform the state’s congressional map Friday, with the goal of boosting the party’s chances of winning control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterms.
The redrawn lines would put five incumbent Republican congressmembers in jeopardy, transforming their districts to favor Democrats in next year’s election — part of a nationwide fight over political maps.
The map will need to be approved by the state Legislature, and then by California voters in a special election set to be held on Nov. 4.
Here are key takeaways from the proposed House map:
The new lines instantly imperil two incumbent Republicans in the northern part of the state.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, who represents the 3rd Congressional District, could be forced to run for reelection in a district that runs further into blue Sacramento County and loses the conservative communities along California’s eastern border.
The 1st Congressional District, held by Rep. Doug LaMalfa since 2013, currently follows Interstate 5 north through the rural counties of Glenn, Tehama, and Shasta to the Oregon border. Under the new map, the district dips south into liberal Sonoma County — stretching all the way to Santa Rosa.
LaMalfa criticized the proposed changes in a post on X Friday, calling it “naked politics at its worst.”
“How on earth does Modoc County on the Nevada and Oregon Border have any common interest with Marin County and the Golden Gate Bridge?” LaMalfa wrote. “Voters took this power from Sacramento for just this reason.”
Paul Mitchell, a redistricting expert who worked on the redistricting plan, said drawing seats in the Central Valley was “a little bit tougher” than in Northern California.
In the Valley, multiple competitive districts sit in close proximity. The region’s large Latino population brings additional requirements under the Voting Rights Act — that districts not be drawn in a way that dilutes Latino voting strength.
Voter registration doesn’t always determine House elections here. In 2024, for example, Republican Rep. David Valadao won reelection in a Bakersfield seat where 40% of voters are Democrats and just 28% are Republicans.
The proposed changes in the Central Valley are centered on what Mitchell called “the Stockton finger,” where the competitive 13th district — currently held by Democratic Rep. Adam Gray — now juts into the city of Stockton, picking up Democratic voters and likely protecting Gray from a tough reelection fight.
Pulling Gray’s district toward Stockton has a domino effect: the 22nd district held by Valadao is also stretched north, toward Fresno, adding Democratic voters to the seat.
“That finger up into Stockton is a key feature of making all the puzzle pieces fall in place in the Central Valley,” Mitchell said.
Perhaps the most dramatic transformation is the remaking of the 41st Congressional District, currently held by Republican Rep. Ken Calvert.
Calvert has represented parts of the Inland Empire since 1993. Democrats have made competitive challenges in the last two elections, particularly after the liberal city of Palm Springs was added to his district in 2022.
Under the proposed lines, Calvert has virtually no chance of winning reelection in the 41st district.
“We did that by literally picking Ken Calvert’s district up off the map and putting it in LA,” Mitchell said. “So, going from a seat that Democrats are wasting a lot of money on trying to win to one that is 100% Democratic in terms of performance.”
The proposed map essentially recreates the Los Angeles-area district formerly held by Democrat Lucille Roybal-Allard. When California lost a congressional seat after the 2020 Census, the state’s independent redistricting commission eliminated the district and Roybal-Allard retired.
The new map creates a vacant seat in the heart of Los Angeles, Mitchell said — a plum position for Democrats in the state’s largest city.
To fill the hole left by Calvert’s seat, the 48th district, currently held by Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, is stretched north over the San Jacinto Mountains and into Palm Springs — giving Democrats a prime opportunity to unseat Issa.
The state Legislature returns from summer recess Monday and will hold a hearing on the new map on Tuesday morning, in the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee.
Lawmakers are expected to vote on the new map and a constitutional amendment that shifts line-drawing powers away from the state’s independent redistricting commission — a change that will need approval from California voters in an election that Democrats hope to schedule for Nov. 4.
Additional legislation will set aside money for counties to administer the election, and enact a trigger clause to nullify the map changes should Republican-led states such as Texas drop their redistricting plans.
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