California Divided: Here’s What’s at Stake for Californians Whose Districts Could Get Rewritten by Proposition 50

Californians will decide Nov. 4 on a ballot measure that could reshape how our state is represented in Congress: Proposition 50 would redraw California’s congressional district lines to help Democrats pick up five additional seats in the House.

The measure is Gov. Gavin Newsom’s response to the growing national fight over redistricting, sparked by President Donald Trump’s push for Republicans in Texas to redraw their maps. If Proposition 50 passes, the state’s political map will look different from Sonoma down to San Diego.

“We can’t stand back and watch this democracy disappear district by district, all across this country,” Newsom said during a press conference in August. “It’s not good enough to just hold hands, have a candlelight vigil and talk about the way things should be. We have got to meet fire with fire.”

State legislators voted to put Newsom’s redistricting plan on the ballot. If Proposition 50 passes, it would temporarily suspend California’s independent redistricting commission through 2030 – an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting move for a state that typically redraws its lines after the census once every 10 years after the census.

The new map would likely flip five of California’s 52 congressional districts from Republican representation to Democratic. It would also make several existing Democratic seats less competitive by bringing blue-leaning areas like Sonoma and Sacramento counties into more traditionally red areas, like Modoc and Kings counties.

In the final week of campaigning ahead of Election Day, those in favor of Proposition 50 argue that redistricting in the Golden State is a necessary counterpunch to Texas’ gerrymandering — and a way to stand up to President Trump on principle.

Opponents argue that the state’s established citizen redistricting commission should be the one orchestrating this process to keep things nonpartisan.

In collaboration with The California Newsroom and KQED’s The California Report, journalists across the state spoke with residents, business leaders and legislators from each of the five congressional districts that could change under Proposition 50 to understand what’s at stake.

District 3

Quick take: Democratic residents in the blue bubble of Lake Tahoe say it’s time to have one of their own in Washington.

Lake Tahoe is a blue dot in California’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers conservative Placer and El Dorado counties and spans down the Eastern Sierra to Death Valley.

The district has long had a Republican representative in Congress, but this mountainous area that draws outdoor lovers year-round usually votes blue.

Theresa May Duggan, a Democrat known locally as Tee May, has been writing postcards to voters across the state, urging them to support Proposition 50. She’s lived in Tahoe for 48 years and said the region faces a lot of the same challenges as other parts of California that are often overshadowed by issues surrounding Lake Tahoe itself.

“Can you imagine if we had another vote in Congress for things for our community that didn’t involve the lake?” Duggan asked. She wants a representative who will work to boost the region’s housing stock.

Duggan also wants to feel like she’s part of California, the part that reflects her values.

“I know I live in a blue dot. I want to live in a blue district too,” Duggan said.

Duggan could get her wish if Proposition 50 passes. California’s redistricting proposal would shrink the 3rd Congressional District and tie in parts of bluer Sacramento County, making it easier for a Democratic candidate to win the seat, currently held by Republican Kevin Kiley.

Other residents say, regardless of party, they want their representative to pay more attention to the region’s unique challenges, including wildfire prevention, skyrocketing insurance rates, rural health care access and management of federal land.

“I think the cuts to the U.S. Forest Service do not serve this area,” said Truckee Town Councilmember Courtney Henderson. “No matter what the boundary looks like or who that representative is, they have to have deep working knowledge of what happens on the ground and in rural communities and a lot of this district is very rural.”

— Laura Fitzgerald, CapRadio

District 22

Quick Take: Farmers fear losing Republican Rep. David Valadao will put them at the mercy of regulation-crazed Dems; others say the congressman needs to pay the political price for supporting Medicaid cuts.

If Proposition 50 passes, Rep. David Valadao of the Central Valley would be one of five Republicans on the chopping block — and that worries farmers in his district, which comprises a significant portion of California’s rich agricultural belt.

Kings County is one of three agricultural counties that make up District 22, represented by Valadao. Dairy farms, vineyards and crops help make California one of the world’s leading agricultural exporters, bringing in billions of dollars a year and providing tens of thousands of jobs.

It’s a point of pride for Charles Meyer, who grows a cornucopia of crops on his 1,500-acre Stratford farm in Kings County, including wheat, Pima cotton, alfalfa, almonds and pistachios.

“You become attached to the ground,” he said. “It’s like our boys in the military, they give their life for the country. We feel about our ground about like that.”

Meyer wants elected leaders who feel that way, too. Valadao, who used to be a dairy farmer, was first elected to Congress in 2012. But if voters approve Proposition 50 next month, District 22 would stretch out almost twice as long to gain Democratic voters from neighboring counties and give them a better shot at winning.

“I don’t want anything that would help Democrats gain power,” Meyer said.

That’s because California Democrats have pushed a slew of environmental regulations aimed at protecting air, water and ecosystems. They also restrict things like groundwater and fertilizer use.

Meyer calls that regulatory overreach, and he blames Democrats for rising farming costs and slumping profits: “When they gain power, negative things happen,” he said.

It’s a common opinion. Signs reading “Vote No on Prop. 50” line Kings County’s highways, alongside banners to recall Newsom.

Many Democrats, however, support the new map. Karla Orosco, a retired science teacher, was among a dozen people recently holding up signs in favor of Proposition 50 and other Democratic priorities in nearby Lemoore. She’s part of a “bridge brigade” that hangs signs on overpasses throughout Kings County. None of the dozen volunteers canvassing in Lemoore that day was a farmer.

But they said they’re angry that Valadao hasn’t hosted an in-person town hall in more than a year, and that he voted to cut Medicaid — even though he said he wouldn’t, and two-thirds of his constituents rely on it.

“That’s going to hurt a lot of people, and it’s going to wake a lot of people up when the healthcare premiums go up,” Orosco said.

—Kerry Klein, KVPR

District 48

Quick take: In a largely red area of San Diego County, Democrats see Proposition 50 as a way to reach new voters.

In San Diego County, four out of five congressional seats are held by Democrats. But in the more rural northeast part of the county, Republicans have been on a winning streak that has lasted more than two decades.

Republican Darrell Issa, who holds California’s 48th District seat, has represented the area through multiple redistricting cycles. If Proposition 50 passes in November, Issa’s district would become almost unrecognizable, shifting from a double-digit advantage for Republicans to a 10-point lead for Democrats.

But Democratic Party activists say the district already has more liberal-leaning voters than even residents in the area might think.

“When people find out that they actually have Democrats or like-minded people as their neighbors, they’re surprised,” said Andi McNew, who was canvassing in the small city of Poway in favor of Proposition 50. “While the MAGA people are loud with their flags and stuff, it kind of keeps Democrats afraid and scared. And they shouldn’t be scared.”

McNew said this perception leads people — and the Democratic Party — to write these areas off as “red,” and not invest in getting out the vote. But because Proposition 50 is a statewide referendum, every vote counts.

“That’s why it’s so sad to see Democrats give up on these areas and not run … for these local seats, because we can win them,” McNew said.

San Diego County Democratic Party Chair Will Rodriguez-Kennedy said his group is going “all in” on Proposition 50 messaging to reach “everyone, everywhere, all at once.”

The party is expanding efforts to reach voters who speak different languages. He said activists on the ground have asked for Spanish-language material, which they’ve been delivering to locals.

Julie Martinez is one of those activists. She volunteers with the Fallbrook Democratic Club, which covers the area northeast of Camp Pendleton.

“Fifty percent of our Democratic base here [in Fallbrook] is of Hispanic and or Indigenous [heritage],” Martinez said. “So, maybe in the past … their needs and their wants and their voices have not been addressed.”

Martinez said targeted outreach makes a big difference.

“We do get a lot of ‘thank yous,’” Martinez said. “We get people telling us that in the entire 20 years or so that they’ve lived in this community, no one has ever given them any voter information in their native language of Spanish. So I see that as a huge success.”

—Jake Gotta, KPBS

District 1

Quick take: Folks in California’s largest Congressional District worry their rural way of life could be threatened by wealthy Bay Area representation under Proposition 50.

California’s 1st Congressional District is the state’s largest by geography: It stretches from Modoc County in the northeast corner of the state to the Klamath National Forest in the west, and down south to the city of Chico.

While it’s vast, Modoc is the third-least populated county in the state. It’s part of a congressional district created to include counties that depend on natural resources like ranching, timber and farming.

Under Proposition 50, that would change: Modoc would still be clustered with like-minded Siskiyou and Shasta counties, but it would be in the same congressional district — District 2 — as Marin County on the coast.

Some residents are concerned that the new maps would further reduce their political power in a super-blue state.

Artist and rancher Valerie Coe moved to Modoc County in the 1990s. She’s concerned that Modoc will be forgotten in the proposed changes, and likes current Congressman Doug LaMalfa, a Republican.

“The representation we have now is a gentleman who is a farmer himself, and so he understands the challenges we face in agriculture,” she said.

If Proposition 50 is approved, Modoc County Democrats hope that Jared Huffman, who currently represents District 2 and calls Marin County home, would become the area’s new congressman.

But not everyone agrees.

“He doesn’t get what’s going on on the ground in rural areas at all,” said Geri Byrne, a rancher and county supervisor. Huffman isn’t a farmer and represents Bay Area cities like San Rafael and Petaluma, along with more rural cities on the coast like Fort Bragg and Ukiah.

Huffman told Jefferson Public Radio he’s aware of the skeptics and knows what he’s up against.

“I’ve got to take the time and make the effort to humanize myself, to show that I do care,” Huffman said. “I’m not some caricature of an urban elite that knows nothing about rural America.”

Chico, also in District 1, is a bright blue dot in a sea of red. If Proposition 50 is approved, it would stay in District 1, but would be clustered into the same district as some wealthy Bay Area cities like Santa Rosa.

Chico and Santa Rosa voted for Kamala Harris and agreed on seven out of the 10 propositions on the 2024 ballot. But Chico resident Walt Stile said political affinity doesn’t equate to a connection, and that people in Santa Rosa aren’t likely to care about issues that Chico faces, like flooding in the Sacramento River.

“I don’t think people in Santa Rosa even know where Chico is,” he said.

And when Chico resident Denise Katsikas thinks of Santa Rosa, her first thought is fancy wineries and wealth. (In 2023, Santa Rosa, with its many vineyards, was ranked eighth out of the 25 most expensive places to live in the United States, according to a U.S. News & World Report.)

“I’m closer to being evicted from my home that’s not paid off than I am to being a billionaire,” she said.

Nevertheless, Katsikas is in favor of Proposition 50.

—Roman Battaglia, Jefferson Public Radio and Sarina Grossi, North State Public Radio

District 41

Quick Take: Welcome to the horsey hamlet of Norco, where voters want to protect their way of life, and “Gavin Newsom” is a dirty word. 

Life in Norco, a rural city of about 25,000 in Riverside County, is built around horses. Locals call it “Horsetown USA.” Just ask resident Don Pettinger, who rides his reddish-brown horse, “Rusty,” through his neighborhood — the sidewalks in Norco are horse trails.

“What does Norco stand for? It stands for the equestrian lifestyle … being able to get our horse and go ride,” he said.

Pettinger and many others in Norco worry they’ll lose their equestrian way of life if Proposition 50 passes. That’s because Norco would be shifted from a staunchly conservative district into one that’s solidly Democratic, urban and possibly unsympathetic to what Pettinger and others here hold dear.

“If we get a representative here who is representing Los Angeles or parts of Pomona or something like that, she’s not going to be used to our lifestyles, or whoever that Congress person is,” he said. “We need someone who knows who we are.”

Norco’s current representative, Republican Ken Calvert, was born and raised in Corona, which is just one town over. He’s represented District 41 for more than 30 years. Pettinger abhors the idea of Proposition 50 taking Calvert away.

“It’s more an issue of a power grab by the governor and the state trying to put their will in place so that they can help control Congress for whoever might control the White House next,” Pettinger said. “And it’s not right.”

Calvert has served on the House Appropriations Committee for more than a decade. Norco City Councilmember Kevin Bash said over the years, the congressman has delivered funding to the region for several big infrastructure projects.

“He built two bridges for us,” Bash said. “He’s put together a recycled water treatment plant to help the Navy, to help our lake.”

Bash worries that without Calvert, Norco might not get what it needs.

Yet conversations with Bash and many other Republicans in town often turn away from Congress and focus instead on state politics, where Democrats hold the power.

For example, they say state policies that require high-density housing threaten Norco’s way of life.

“Our biggest enemy is the state of California,” Bash said.

And as many California Republicans see it, Gov. Newsom — who launched Proposition 50 in response to gerrymandering efforts in Texas — is the state.

But many Democrats in Norco see Proposition 50’s proposed map as an opportunity to get rid of Calvert. Chair of the Riverside County Democratic Party Joy Silver said after more than 30 years, it’s about time.

“Ken Calvert, I think, is just one of those guys who touts the party line,” she said.

For example, Calvert voted to cut Medicaid, by way of voting for the Big Beautiful Bill, and he holds an “enforcement-first” stance on immigration. Local Democrats also say he’s notorious for not hosting town hall events. According to Calvert’s website, the last town hall was held in 2017.

That doesn’t matter much to Don Pettinger. Even though there’s no sign Congress would come for his horse trails, he still worries that a new district map would stir up trouble for Norco.

“Let us be Horsetown, USA,” he said. “Let us be.”

—Madison Aument, KVCR

This story is part of California Divided, a digital and audio series about Proposition 50 produced by The California Newsroom, a collaboration of public media outlets throughout the state and KQED’s The California Report.