Former President Barack Obama just appeared in a new, high-stakes political ad for California Governor Gavin Newsom’s redistricting effort, warning that if the effort fails, Republicans could easily “rig” the next election and gain unchecked power. I honestly can’t believe how direct and urgent this is. The ad, which is only 30 seconds long, sees Obama essentially telling California voters, “the whole nation is counting on you.”
Obama makes it perfectly clear that this isn’t just about California’s state politics; it’s about the balance of power across the entire country for the 2026 midterms. This appearance is the latest move by Newsom and his allies to tout the new redistricting plan, which is going before California voters in a special election next month, per The Hill. Obama has been clear that Trump is sliding on things Obama would never get away with, and now he’s calling on people to stop the GOP.
Obama’s message is loud and clear: “Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield enough unchecked power for two more years. With [Proposition] 50, you can stop Republicans in their tracks.” That’s a powerful line, and it really shows just how high the stakes are for the Democratic Party, so it makes sense that Obama has spoken up so much.
Obama is pushing California to fight the GOP
The goal is simple but powerful, and if voters approve it, Proposition 50 would permit the state legislature to bypass the independent redistricting commission entirely. This gives the Democrats the power to pass a new House map ahead of the 2026 elections. This time around, the motivation is pure political defense, and honestly, to be fair, you can’t blame them for fighting back.
Newsom first announced his plans for this special election back in August, and it was a direct response to Republican redistricting efforts going on in Texas. As Obama pointed out, the GOP has been cracking down hard on this sort of thing, and it looks like it’s forced California’s hand. Obama was actually one of the first high-profile figures to approve of Newsom’s plan when it was announced.
He said, “Since Texas is taking direction from a partisan White House and gerrymandering in the middle of a decade to try and maintain the House despite their unpopular policies, I have tremendous respect for how Governor Newsom has approached this.” He continued, “He’s put forward a smart, measured approach in California, designed to address a very particular problem at a very particular moment in time.”
Moving forward, the question is whether Californians will agree. While recent polling shows a majority of California voters are saying they approve of Newsom’s push, there’s been some very vocal public pushback. The biggest name to weigh in on the other side is former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger actually championed the independent commission back in 2008 when he was in office, so he’s got a personal connection to this. Last month, he warned that Democratic leaders should not “become [President] Trump” in their efforts to fight back against Republicans on
