A California Republican is vowing to mount a legal challenge to Gavin Newsom's redistricting push, which is set to offset Texas' own such initiative with a special election in November.
Speaking to CBS News, state Sen. Tony Strickland said he will "fight every step of the way" as long as "I have breath in my body."
"Every loophole they do, every constitutional measure they break, we're going to challenge them in court," he added.
California Republicans filed an emergency petition asking the state's supreme court to block the special election. Hannah Milgrom, a spokesperson for the campaign seeking to redraw the districts to make them more favorable to Democrats, told the outlet that "Trump's toadies already got destroyed once in court."
"Now, they are trying again to protect Trump's power grab and prevent the voters from having their say on Prop 50. They will lose," she added.
Other Republicans have also voiced their willingness to oppose the initiative. Ken Calvert, who would likely lose his seat should the initiative move forward, told ABC News he is "committed to defeating Newsom's power grab in this special election."
A spokesperson for Rep. Darrell Issa, who is in the same situation as Calvert, called the initiative a "pure political power grab that shouldn't pass the test of voters who already decided to keep politicians like Newsom out of reapportionment."
If passed, the measure would resume using nonpartisan maps after the 2030 census. "We anticipate these maps will completely neuter and neutralize what is happening in Texas," said Gov. Gavin Newsom. He added that the move will only go into effect if Texas Republicans move forward with their initiative. "There's still an exit ramp," he said.
The Washington Post noted that California Democrats currently hold 43 out of the state's 52 congressional seats. The new map would expand the advantage to 48-4.
Newsom's initiative had a 22-point advantage in support among state voters earlier this month, according to a longtime pollster of his. David Binder found that 57% of state voters backed the measure, in contrast with 35% who opposed it. 8% were undecided.
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