A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The national fight over redistricting is escalating, and lawmakers in Texas and California are back to work in their state capitals.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Texas Democrats returned after fleeing the state for two weeks. They were stalling a newly drawn congressional map driven by President Trump. It was loud yesterday as they entered the House chambers in Austin and supporters cheered them on.
(CHEERING)
MARTÍNEZ: One reason they're back - California. Democrats from the Golden State have released a map to counter Texas. It could lead to five more Democratic seats in the U.S. House to offset the expected five new Republican seats in Texas. With us this morning to break it all down is Laura Fitzgerald with CapRadio in Sacramento. So, Laura, what do we know so far about the new map in California?
LAURA FITZGERALD, BYLINE: So like you mentioned, A, it aims to flip five congressional districts that Republicans hold in California, and it puts together somewhat unlikely areas. For example, one district would include communities in Modoc County all the way up north near the Oregon border with Marin County, which is way down near San Francisco. Those are two very politically different regions, and under this proposal, they'd have the same congressional representative. Democrats here say the plan is to vote on the map this week, and then this'll go to the voters so that they can have the final say in November.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, Modoc and Marin are as different as anything could possibly be.
FITZGERALD: (Laughter).
MARTÍNEZ: So, OK, how are Republicans responding?
FITZGERALD: Well, Republicans strongly oppose the measure. And just some context here, the reason why California is going to the voters is because the independent redistricting commission that we have here is in our state Constitution. So Republicans are criticizing Democrats for sidelining that. Here's the assembly's Republican minority leader, James Gallagher, talking about that at a press conference at the Capitol yesterday.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
JAMES GALLAGHER: We should not abandon the principle of fair and independent redistricting here in California just for political expediency, but that is exactly what these maps do.
FITZGERALD: California's Republican congressional delegation has also spoken out against the bill. Republicans hold nine out of the state's 52 congressional seats. One of them is Congressman Kevin Kiley. He's actually introduced legislation in Congress to ban mid-decade redistricting nationwide. That would include the GOP-led effort in Texas. It's important to note here also that his district east of Sacramento is one of the five that could become bluer under the proposal.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. So what are you watching next?
FITZGERALD: Well, this proposal's on a tight timeline. The new map was just released late last week on Friday evening, and the measure was formally introduced yesterday at the Capitol. In order to get this in front of voters in November, lawmakers have to pass the bill by a two-thirds vote this week. Democrats do hold a supermajority in California's state legislature, so that passage is likely. After that, voters will weigh in on November 4. Governor Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers and the state's organized labor leaders, they've already launched a campaign for the measure urging voters to support it before lawmakers have even sent it to the ballot. And meanwhile, Republicans are threatening to file lawsuits challenging the ballot measure. And one more thing - Democrats here say they will back down on the redistricting fight if Texas and other red states do, too.
MARTÍNEZ: Any indication about how California voters feel about this?
FITZGERALD: You know, there's some early polling out there that shows that there's a slight majority of Californians that do view this favorably, but it's still very early in the process.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's Laura Fitzgerald, political reporter with CapRadio in Sacramento. Laura, thanks.
FITZGERALD: Thank you, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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