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California Governor Gavin Newsom is continuing to push for redistricting in his state in response to Texas' new congressional maps recently passed by the Texas House of Representatives. Unfortunately for him, he's facing some pushback from within his own state.
California Republicans are now hitting him with major corruption allegations, with some even going as far as to call for a federal investigation into Newsom. State Assembly member Carl DeMaio recently spoke at a press conference on the subject, saying, "It is quite clear that we need a full and complete investigation of who's behind these maps and how these maps were constructed."
Newsom is now facing allegations of everything from vote trading to outright bribery with regard to the new maps. LA County GOP Executive Board Member Steve Williams says there is cause for concern here. He explained, "Everything was done behind closed doors, so we have no idea as to what transpired; we really don't know exactly who drew the maps."
Williams went on to call the entire California redistricting effort a prime example of Democratic Party hypocrisy, saying, "The logic they're using is 'two wrongs make a right.' They're accusing Texas of committing a wrong, and they themselves then went to commit a similar wrongful act."
The real question is, will California actually be able to redraw its maps? Currently, the California Constitution would prevent this redistricting effort from moving forward, and it would have to be amended before a new map can be implemented.
Williams doesn't think Newsom will be able to get that far. He said, "I firmly believe the voters are going to see this for what it is, which is a blatant, corrupt power grab by a party that already overwhelmingly controls the politics in California."