Former President Barack Obama urged voters to again California Democrats’ redistricting effort throughout a digital occasion with Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday, framing the proposed constitutional modification as a method to counter President Donald Trump’s efforts to skew the 2026 midterm elections in Republicans’ favor.
The measure, Proposition 50, would permit Democrats to change maps drawn by an impartial fee with new maps that would assist the social gathering flip as many as 5 GOP-held US House seats. Democrats have argued their push is important to counter Republican-led gerrymandering in states comparable to Texas.
“The essence of Prop 50 is to say that if you are going to play that game, then we are going to try to counteract that abuse of the system,” Obama stated in a name with volunteers.
Obama lent his voice to a latest marketing campaign advert urging Californians to again the measure forward of the November 4 election, warning that “the whole nation is counting” on the state to cease Republicans, who he stated need to “wield unchecked power for two more years.”
The former president reiterated that message Wednesday.
“The problem that we are seeing right now is that our current president and his administration is explicitly saying that we want to change the rules of the game midstream in order to insulate ourselves from the people’s judgment,” Obama stated.
Newsom praised Obama and known as him the “closing messenger” of the redistricting marketing campaign.
“I hope it’s dawning on everyone how precious this moment is,” he stated.