Gavin Newsom’s Prop 50 win strengthens his position as a top Democratic contender for 2028

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: California Governor Gavin Newsom scored a major political win on November 4 when voters approved Proposition 50. Officials announced the results just seconds after the voting stations closed.

The measure, dubbed the “Election Rigging Response Act,” could give Democrats up to five additional congressional seats in California during the next midterms and the 2028 elections, boosting Newsom’s profile as he weighs a possible presidential run.

Newsom proposed Proposition 50 in response to the Texas GOP’s recent redistricting plan, which aims to give Republicans an advantage in retaining control of the US House in 2026.

Gavin Newsom hails Prop 50 win as proof of Democratic Party’s rise

Proposition 50 strips the bipartisan California Citizens Redistricting Commission of its authority to redraw the state’s congressional maps until 2030, transferring that power back to the Democratic-controlled state legislature.

The win adds to a series of Democratic victories, including gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as New York City voters electing Zohran Mamdani over former Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Newsom declared that the Democratic Party is “in its ascendancy” while speaking from Sacramento on November 4. “A party that is on its toes, no longer on its heels, from coast to coast, sea to shining sea,” he said.

“We stood tall and we stood firm to Donald Trump's recklessness, and tonight, after poking the bear, this bear roared, with an unprecedented turnout in a special election with an extraordinary result,” Newsom added, referencing California’s official animal, the grizzly bear.

“We're proud of the work that the people of the state of California did tonight to send a powerful message to an historic president,” he continued. “Donald Trump is an historic president, he is the most historically unpopular president in modern history.”

The governor said Trump lags behind in every measure. “He promised to make us healthier, he promised to make us wealthier. We're sicker and poorer. And he fundamentally understands that,” Newsom said.

Gavin Newsom warns GOP is ‘rigging the election’ ahead of House races

Newsom warned that Donald Trump understood the stakes if Democrats regained control of the House next year. He argued that Democrats needed to fight “fire with fire.”

“These guys are not screwing around. They're ruthless. They're trying to rig the election before one vote is cast,” Newsom said in a CNN interview. “What they expected us to do was cast aspersions, maybe write an op-ed, maybe have a candlelight vigil, walk the streets, talk about the way the world should be, maybe try and win the argument, as they're consolidating power."

Trump claims voter fraud in California redistricting

Earlier on Tuesday, November 4, Donald Trump took to Truth Social to attack California’s redistricting effort. He called the vote “a GIANT SCAM” and claimed the entire process, especially voting, was “RIGGED.”

Trump also said that all mail-in ballots, where Republicans are “shut out,” are under serious legal and criminal review, and urged followers to “STAY TUNED!”

Following the post, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed questions about it during a tense briefing. “It’s absolutely true that there are [sic.] fraud in California’s elections. It’s just a fact,” Leavitt told reporters.

“Fraudulent ballots that are being mailed in, in the names of other people, in the names of illegal aliens who shouldn’t be voting in American elections. There’s countless examples, and we’d be happy to provide them.”

Leavitt also confirmed that the administration is planning additional executive actions on elections.

“The White House is working on an executive order to strengthen our elections in this country, and to ensure that there cannot be blatant fraud, as we’ve seen in California, with their universal mail-in voting system,” Leavitt said. “Like any executive order, of course, any executive order the president signs is within his full executive authority and within the confines of the law.”