Obama cuts new ad for Newsom’s California redistricting effort
Former President Obama appeared in a new ad for California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) redistricting effort on Tuesday, warning that Republicans want to steal congressional seats to “rig” next year’s midterm elections.
“California, the whole nation is counting on you,” Obama says in the 30-second spot. “Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield enough unchecked power for two more years. With [Proposition] 50, you can stop Republicans in their tracks.”
Obama’s appearance is the latest effort from Newsom and his allies to tout his redistricting plan, which California voters will have a chance to approve in a special election next month.
In August, Newsom first announced plans to hold a November special election for voters to approve a ballot measure that would allow Democrats to pass a new House map ahead of the 2026 elections. This was in response to Republican redistricting efforts in Texas.
Proposition 50 would permit the state legislature to bypass the independent redistricting commission in order to pass the new maps.
Obama approved of Newsom’s plan shortly after it was announced in August.
“Since Texas is taking direction from a partisan White House and gerrymandering in the middle of a decade to try and maintain the House despite their unpopular policies, I have tremendous respect for how Governor Newsom has approached this,” Obama said in a post on the social media platform X. “He’s put forward a smart, measured approach in California, designed to address a very particular problem at a very particular moment in time.”
Recent polling shows a majority of California voters saying they approve of Newsom’s redistricting push, but there has been public pushback.
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), who championed the independent commission when he was governor in 2008, warned last month that Democratic leaders should not “become [President] Trump” in their effort to push back on Republicans on redistricting.
“I mean, two bad behaviors don’t make a right behavior. Two wrongs don’t make a right,” the former governor said.