Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) lauded California’s redistricting efforts in a Tuesday video and encouraged residents to support the push, which follows Texas’s successful redrawing of its congressional map.
“California, you know we don’t back down from a fight. And this November, the fight belongs to you. Donald Trump is redrawing election maps to force through a Congress that only answers to him, not the people,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referring to the “Election Rigging Response Act,” also known as Proposition 50.
“If he gets away with it, all bets are off for our healthcare, our paychecks, and our freedoms. With Prop 50, we can stop him,” she added in the clip posted to the social media platform X by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). “Prop 50 levels the playing field and gives power back to the people.”
Last month, President Trump threatened to sue the state over its proposed redistricting efforts.
“I think I’m going to be filing a lawsuit pretty soon, and I think we’re going to be very successful,” Trump told reporters in August. “We’re going to be filing it through the Department of Justice, that’s going to happen.”
Although no legal battles from the administration have materialized, the Golden State’s GOP challenged the effort in the California Supreme Court. The case was ultimately rejected.
A special election has been set for November, where Californians will vote on Prop 50 to bypass California’s independent redistricting commission.
If successful, the state could see five more Democratic seats in Congress.
New York and Illinois are considering similar legislation to Newsom’s in an effort to usher in a Democratic majority in Congress.
