California’s own redistricting architect is now championing a national fight against partisan mapmaking. Paul Mitchell, the vice‑president of Political Data Inc. and owner of Redistricting Partners, wrote a San Francisco Chronicle op‑ed on Wednesday urging Congress to “kill partisan gerrymandering for good.”
Why California’s map mattered
Proposition 50, approved by California voters in November 2025, temporarily replaced the state’s independent congressional districts with a Democratic‑friendly layout that will remain in effect through 2030. The plan helped the Democratic Party flip five Republican‑held House seats in the 2026 midterm elections, a result the California Democratic Party hailed as a direct response to a “Republican power grab” orchestrated by President Donald Trump and Texas leaders.
Mitchell’s rationale
In his op‑ed, Mitchell acknowledged that Prop 50 was designed to benefit Democrats, but he framed it as a necessary, temporary counter‑measure to aggressive redistricting efforts by Texas Republicans. He said, “Prop 50 was the right response to what Republicans in TX were doing, but recall that when TX started doing this, our approach wasn’t to just start redistricting ourselves; we did a lot of work trying to get TX to not start the redistricting wars.”
Mitchell added that the recent Republican losses in the House should make GOP leaders more receptive to reform. “What makes now really important is that Republicans, who have opposed redistricting reform, should now realize that they lost in this war, so getting out of future wars is something maybe they would take more seriously now,” he told Fox News Digital.
Call for federal action
While supporting a ban on mid‑decade redistricting, Mitchell warned that such a restriction alone would not stop partisan gerrymandering when states redraw maps after each census. He advocated for independent commissions in every state as the best long‑term solution.
He also referenced legislation introduced by Rep. Zoe Lofgren that would establish national redistricting standards, saying, “If then someone had said ‘Congress will be banning mid‑decade redistricting’ we would have been all for it. And I supported the legislation by Zoe Lofgren that would have set up national redistricting standards.”
Local and national reactions
California Governor Gavin Newsom, in a November 2025 social‑media post, described Prop 50 as “standing up to bullies like Donald Trump.” The California Democratic Party similarly framed the measure as a defensive response to a perceived Republican power grab.
Outside California, some states are already discussing early redistricting ahead of the 2028 election cycle, according to Roll Call. Meanwhile, outgoing Georgia Governor Brian Kemp reiterated his commitment to respecting election results and the state constitution, declining to call a special session on map changes.
What’s next for California?
Mitchell expects the Prop 50 maps to stay in place through 2030, with the focus shifting to establishing a fairer redistricting process for the 2031 cycle. He emphasized that the ultimate goal is a transparent, non‑partisan system that lets voters choose candidates they prefer, rather than being constrained by engineered district lines.
As the debate over independent commissions gains momentum, Mitchell’s appeal adds a bipartisan voice from a seasoned redistricting professional who has overseen more than 100 redistricting projects nationwide, including commissions in New York, Los Angeles, and Long Beach.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
