Friends,

By now you’ve heard: Trump is pressuring Texas Republicans to rig congressional maps to give him five more votes. He’s telling politicians to pick their voters, not letting voters decide who represents them.

Not only is this shameful, it’s a clear violation of the Hatch Act — the law that prohibits federal officials within the Executive Branch from engaging in partisan political activity.

And the President has made it very clear — he's not even trying to hide it — that the purpose of redistricting in Texas is to create additional Republican seats, so this is as partisan as it gets.

My home state of California is fighting back. If Texas goes forward with their gerrymandering, California will counter Texas’ blatant power grab.

I’ve also called for an investigation into potential Hatch Act violations amongst Trump officials and in the DOJ around this partisan redistricting push in Texas.

Given the stakes of what’s happening nationally: the corruption, the chaos, the damage to working families and our national security… We can't let Republicans get away with this partisan gerrymander and lock in a majority after the midterms.

It’s obvious why Republicans feel they need to cheat instead of winning fairly at the ballot box.

The GOP understands that if they’re forced to run on their record — cutting health care for 15 million Americans, massive tax cuts for billionaires, and complete fealty to Donald Trump — they will lose in a landslide.

So instead of changing their policies and prioritizing working people, they just rig the system so they can’t lose.

They don’t care about the will of the voters — they just want to stay in power.

It’s disgraceful, and I hope that Texas Republicans change their minds and abandon this partisan redistricting scheme.

But if they do not, and if other Republican states follow Texas’s lead, California is ready to fight fire with fire. There’s too much at stake to sit this one out.

Thank you,

- Alex Padilla

Paid For By Alex Padilla for Senate

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