Proposition 50 Sails to a Win in California's Special Election

Here are your headlines for the morning of Wednesday, November 5th, 2025:

• California voters pass Proposition 50, setting the state up to redraw its congressional district maps, challenging a move by Texas to redraw its maps to give Republicans an edge in next year’s mid-term elections.
• California Senator Alex Padilla has squashed any rumors that he has eyes on his state’s Governor’s seat. Yesterday, he announced his intentions not to run in California’s governor’s race in 2026.

Voters Approve the Redistricting Measure, Setting Up Bigger Political Battle Next Year

Voters in California have passed Proposition 50 in yesterday’s special election, approving a measure that would reconfigure the state’s congressional district maps ahead of next year’s mid-term elections.

Prop. 50 would sideline the current maps drawn up by the state’s independent redistricting committee starting next year, in favor of maps drawn to potentially hand the Democrats three to five more seats in the House next November.

The legislation is one Governor Newsom and Democrats throughout the state started touting after Texas lawmakers decided to redraw their map to secure more House seats for the GOP, acquiescing to demands from President Donald Trump.

Prop. 50 secured about 64 percent of the vote when the race was called in its favor–although ballots are still being counted. Speaking to the Sacramento press last night, Gov. Newsom said the win is one for both California and the United States as a whole.

“In a 90 day sprint, people from all over the United States of America contributed their voices and their support for this initiative. We stood tall and we stood firm in response to Donald Trump’s recklessness,” the governor said. “And tonight, after poking the bear, this bear roared with an unprecedented turnout, in a special election with an extraordinary result.”

He also struck something of a somber tone during last night’s speech, warning that President Trump will try and cast doubt on the results of the election–in an attempt to “rig” next year’s mid-term elections.

“Our founding fathers did not live and die to see the kind of vandalism to this Republic and our democracy that Donald Trump is trying to perpetuate,” Newsom said. “We need to see other states, with their remarkable leaders, that have been doing remarkable things, to meet this moment head on as well–to recognize what we are up against in 2026.”

Within two hours of California opening its polls yesterday, President Trump said via his Truth Social account that Prop. 50 was “a GIANT scam.” White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said later in the day that the administration is exploring an executive order to contest the legitimacy of California’s mail-in ballots.