Donald Trump knows that if Democrats win back the House, his ability to move the MAGA agenda will take a big hit. That’s why he’s pushing Republicans in Texas, Missouri, and other states to gerrymander their congressional districts—redrawing district lines mid-cycle to carve out more Republican seats, effectively rigging the 2026 midterms before voters even get to cast their ballots.
Here’s the good news: California Governor Gavin Newsom just announced a new ballot initiative to fight back, and Swing Left is going all in to support it.
Following our update from earlier this week, this is our next big step to combat Republican gerrymandering and support Democrats’ efforts to win back the House.
Why? Because winning back Democratic control of the House next year is essential to stopping Trump—and this move may substantially aid our ability to do so. This initiative would let voters approve new, temporary congressional maps in California, offsetting Republican power grabs in Texas and other GOP-led states that would give them an unfair advantage in the House race.
It’s a smart, targeted move to give power back to the people and stop Trump from bypassing voters to cement a Republican majority in the House. And it would only move forward if Texas or another Republican-controlled state redraws their maps first. Because this isn’t about rigging the game for Democrats—it’s about pushing back against a Republican power grab and protecting the democratic process for the entire country.
Above all else, our priority remains putting our collective efforts into the most effective ways to elect a Democratic House majority, and this ballot initiative is a critical part of making that happen.
And if there’s any grassroots community with the power to tip the balance, it’s ours. In 2024 you were a big part of countering the national rightward shift in California, raising $1.4 million and contacting more than 500,000 voters for Democrats in the state’s most competitive districts. As a result, we helped secure narrow victories for four candidates—like Adam Gray, who won by fewer than 200 votes—ensuring that Republicans’ majority in the House is one of the smallest in history.
Now we’re confident that we can make another important impact this cycle, and the stakes are too high to sit this one out.
What happens next: To be able to run a special election this November so California voters can vote on new maps, the state legislature needs to pass the ballot language by a two-thirds majority by August 22nd (which it’s expected to do).
We’ll be in touch in the coming days with ways to volunteer and donate in support of this initiative.
Donald Trump and his Republican allies can’t rig the game. We have the agency—and the power—to fight back, starting in California.
—The Swing Left Team
