Redistricting is the only way to stop the White House’s broadsides on higher education, businesses, and immigrant communities. That was Gov. Gavin Newsom’s message to voters on Tuesday during an online rally for Proposition 50, his ballot initiative to redraw California’s congressional districts.

Newsom tapped a mix of Democratic politicians and friendly content creators and influencers to shore up campaign dollars and support for his initiative, which will be on the Nov. 4 ballot. YouTube personality Brian Tyler Cohen hosted the rally, with appearances from podcasters like Tommy Vietor, Jon Favreau, Katie Phang, and Ben Meiselas; Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Alex Padilla; Reps. Jamie Raskin, Jimmy Gomez, Eric Swalwell, and Robert Garcia; actor Martin Sheen; and former Texas Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke.

“Donald Trump realizes and recognizes that he is likely, almost overwhelmingly likely, to lose the midterms, and so he’s trying to hold on to power, and the only way could hold on to power is to rig the system to change the game,” Newsom said, referring to the president’s request that Texas Republicans redraw their districts to shore up the GOP’s thin House majority, which inspired California’s reciprocal campaign.

He called immigration agents’ appearance at Prop. 50’s campaign launch last month in Los Angeles an attempt to “chill” dissent, along with Trump’s recent remarks about taking revenge on liberals after the shooting death of right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus last week.

Newsom, who is thought to be eyeing the White House in 2028, has framed redistricting as the Democrats’ best chance to win back control of the House and stop Congress from approving much of Trump’s legislative agenda.

“The economy is flailing, inflation starting to rise again. Consumer confidence is down. The tariffs have terrified our allies, and taxes are being felt on the American people, middle class families,” he said. “His only legislative success, the Big Beautiful Bill, is anything but. It’s a big, beautiful betrayal, and we’re seeing all of these authoritarian tendencies as a response to that weakness....The consequences of this initiative (have the ability) to set the tone and tenor into 2026 and to de facto end the Trump presidency in next year’s midterms.”

Other rally attendants pointed to the administration’s court victories, like a recent Supreme Court ruling allowing immigration officials to profile people based on perceived ethnicity, as evidence that Democrats’ best chance for fighting back was at the ballot box.

“If we do not win back the House, then you're looking at a permanent MAGA version of America, not for two years, but at least for the next 10 years,” Gomez said. “Because they're going to solidify all the cuts that they did in (the Big Beautiful Bill), the Medicaid cuts, the cuts to SNAP, the big tax giveaway.”

Even with a Democratic supermajority in the Legislature and Congress, it’s far from certain that voters will approve of redistricting as good governance advocates have said Prop. 50 will undercut the state’s independent Citizen Redistricting Commission. Analysts pointed to a host of red states poised to pass their own redrawn maps, which could neutralize California’s effort and maintain the GOP’s hold on Congress.

Jessica Millan Patterson, the former California GOP party chair now spearheading a Prop. 50 opposition campaign, called Newsom’s rally “distraction and deflection,” and cited internal numbers claiming voters were souring on redistricting.

“Instead of addressing the $283 million price tag taxpayers are stuck with for his partisan power grab, he’s hosting a cringeworthy webinar packed with DC politicians, out-of-state influencers, and irrelevant podcasters, all lining up to applaud his gerrymandered maps,” she said in a statement. “With Prop 50 already polling under 50 percent, it’s no surprise Newsom is scrambling for out-of-touch messengers to sell his scheme.”

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