Politico:

California Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a major hurdle in his quest to revamp his state’s congressional lines, according to a new poll: Californians’ deep support for its current independent redistricting commission.

By nearly a two-to-one margin, voters prefer keeping an independent line-drawing panel to determine the state’s House seats, the latest POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab survey found. Just 36 percent of respondents back returning congressional redistricting authority to state lawmakers.

“It’s not surprising, in the sense that California has voted twice for this independent review commission not all that long ago,” said Jack Citrin, a veteran political science professor at UC Berkeley and partner on the poll. “And there’s a lot of mistrust and cynicism about politicians and the Legislature. That’s reflected here as well.”

California Democrats are plowing ahead with a high-stakes gambit to redraw the state’s lines to counter a proposed gerrymander by Texas Republicans spurred by President Donald Trump. California officials are expected to unveil newly redrawn maps at the end of this week that would position Democrats to nab five extra seats, neutralizing the Texas redraw….

Politico:

President Donald Trump’s aggressive redistricting push is sparking public concern from an unusual mix of Republicans.

Resistance to mid-decade redraws is running the ideological gamut and cutting across levels of government. While many are backing Trump’s gambit to protect the GOP’s House majority in the midterms, a growing number of Republican lawmakers are airing concerns — a list that spans lawmakers from swing districts in blue states to safe territory in ruby-red Florida.

Trump and his team have convinced once-wary Texas Republicans to draw a new House map and lobbied the GOP governors of Missouri and Indiana to at least “seriously” consider following suit, but the Republican governor of New Hampshire has ruled out pursuing any changes because “the timing is off.” And GOP state lawmakers across the country — who hold the power to redraw lines in several of the states at the forefront of what’s becoming a nationwide redistricting arms race — are finding themselves similarly split.

These strange divisions underscore the complex political dynamics of the president’s latest power play. It’s become a loyalty test that could boost Republicans’ chances of keeping their trifecta in Washington, but one that also carries significant electoral risk for several of their own members in Congress and potential for broader voter backlash.

Trump’s team is barreling forward, bullish about having more opportunities to redraw maps across the states than Democrats and brushing off concerns as primarily coming from members whose seats are at risk. Administration officials and allies are working to fire up his base by noting that Democrats have already gerrymandered several states in their favor and have limited moves left to play. And MAGA online influencers like Steven Bannon and Charlie Kirk are encouraging their fans to jam Greg Abbott’s phone lines so the Texas governor ratchets up pressure on quorum-breaking Democrats to return and let Republicans pass a new congressional map. But even that is showing some limits.

“Redistricting is not really an ideological exercise as much as a self-interest exercise,” California-based GOP strategist Rob Stutzman said. “The safer you are and enjoy being in the majority, the more your self interest is ‘lets see Texas get scrambled and if we sacrifice some colleagues from blue states, in California and New York, so be it.’”

But for those more vulnerable Republicans, “this poses a substantial risk to your career,” Stutzman said. And that’s why some are reflecting at least a “growing private sentiment of ‘is this really worth it?’”…

The Downballot:

At Donald Trump’s instigation, Republican lawmakers across the country are moving forward with plans to redraw their congressional maps outside of the normal once-a-decade redistricting process—purely for partisan political gain.

In response, Democrats nationwide are preparing to counter these gerrymanders with new maps of their own. And in some cases, the courts, rather than legislators, could soon step in to impose changes.

In this continually updated guide, The Downballot is keeping track of the latest redistricting developments in each state—28 in all. Next to each state’s name, you’ll find a breakdown of how many members of each party it elected to the House in 2024.

States not on this list include those whose congressional delegations are effectively maxed out for one side or the other (such as Massachusetts and Oklahoma); those where political considerations make any mid-decade remap very unlikely (such as Arizona and Michigan); or those that have just a single district (like Alaska and Delaware).

You can also check out our special report explaining how every blue state (and several purple ones) can respond to these new Republican efforts to further gerrymander the maps in red states….

WaPo: President Donald Trump’s push to redraw the congressional map has fueled a redistricting arms race, with blue and red states rushing to counter each other. But it’s an uneven fight. Republicans appear to hold the advantage in the… Continue reading

Announcement via email: Common Cause today reaffirmed its commitment to fair, people-powered democracy, making clear that independent redistricting commissions remain the gold standard for ending partisan gerrymandering. However, as political leaders in states like Texas are imposing mid-decade partisan maps to distort the… Continue reading