California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom celebrated a significant triumph on election night, despite not being directly on the ballot.

The Governor’s initiative, Proposition 50, passed with ease. This measure could potentially secure an additional five congressional seats for Democrats in California during the midterms and the 2028 elections. The announcement of its approval came swiftly, moments after the polls closed.

Proposition 50, also known as the ‘Election Rigging Response Act,’ was developed by Newsom following the Texas GOP’s decision to redraw district lines to favor Republican retention of the House of Representatives in 2026.

This new proposition shifts the responsibility for redistricting in California from the bipartisan California Citizens Redistricting Commission to the state legislature, which is predominantly Democratic, until 2030.

The successful passage of Proposition 50 bolsters Newsom’s political standing as he eyes a potential presidential bid in 2028.

Additionally, this victory adds to the Democratic Party’s recent successes, including gubernatorial wins in both Virginia and New Jersey, and the election of Zohran Mamdani, a self-identified democratic socialist, in New York City over former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who received a last-minute endorsement from President Donald Trump.

Newsom proclaimed Tuesday night from Sacramento that the Democratic Party was ‘in its ascendancy.’ 

‘A party that is on its toes, no longer on its heels, from coast to coast, sea to shining sea,’ he said.  

‘We stood tall and we stood firm to Donald Trump’s recklessness, and tonight, after poking the bear, this bear roared – with an unprecedented turnout in a special election with an extraordinary result,’ Newsom added. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks Tuesday night after his Proposition 50 easily passed, which will allow the Democrats in the state legislature to redraw the state’s congressional map that will likely give Democrats five more House seats

Jerry Canaday of Santa Rosa, who has supported numerous liberal causes since the 1960s, encourages passing motorists to vote Yes on Prop 50 in Santa Rosa, California on Monday 

The California grizzly bear is the state’s official animal. 

‘We’re proud of the work that the people of the state of California did tonight to send a powerful message to an historic president,’ Newsom continued. ‘Donald Trump is an historic president, he is the most historically unpopular president in modern history.’

The Democratic governor claimed that Trump was ‘underwater’ in every metric. 

‘He promised to make us healthier, he promised to make us wealthier. We’re sicker and poorer. And he fundamentally understands that,’ Newsom said.

Newsom argued that’s why Trump called Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other Republican governors to back the unusual redistricting plan.  

Redistricting is generally done only once a decade, after a new census is completed, but Republican state legislatures started crafting new maps in Texas and then in North Carolina, Missouri and Ohio. 

The new districts are expected to help Republicans gain five House seats in Texas, two in Ohio and one in both North Carolina and Missouri. 

Newsom said Trump knew what was at stake if Democrats were able to win back the House of Representatives next year. 

‘We can de facto end Donald Trump’s presidency as we know it the minute Speaker Jeffries gets sworn in,’ Newsom said. 

The California governor, standing alongside his second wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom, ended his remarks in what appeared to be a subtle swipe at his ex-wife, Kimberly Guilfoyle, who’s serving as Trump’s ambassador to Greece and was previously engaged to Donald Trump Jr. 

‘The best is yet to come,’ Newsom said, echoing the phrase that Guilfoyle used to conclude her highly mocked 2020 Republican National Convention address. 

California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom secured a victory this election night – and his name wasn’t on the ballot

Election workers check in voters Tuesday in Pasadena, California where Rose Parade floats were being assembled nearby 

California voters did not initially embrace Newsom’s plan, as the bipartisan commission was popular, since it prohibits either party from gerrymandering districts. 

But Newsom made the case that Democrats needed to fight ‘fire with fire.’  

‘These guys are not screwing around. They’re ruthless. They’re trying to rig the election before one vote is cast,’ Newsom said in a recent CNN interview. ‘What they expected us to do was cast aspersions, maybe write an op-ed, maybe have a candlelight vigil, walk the streets, talk about the way the world should be, maybe try and win the argument, as they’re consolidating power.’ 

Beyond the redistricting push, which was backed by prominent party members including former President Barack Obama and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Newsom has used his social media posts to troll Trump, mimicking his often outlandish vernacular. 

Trump took to Truth Social earlier Tuesday to trash the effort.

‘The Unconstitutional Redistricting Vote in California is a GIANT SCAM in that the entire process, in particular the Voting itself, is RIGGED,’ the president claimed. 

‘All “Mail-In” Ballots, where the Republicans in that State are “Shut Out,” is under very serious legal and criminal review. STAY TUNED!’ Trump added. 

Trump has long taken issue with elections in California, floating – without evidence – that millions of illegal immigrants have voted in the state. 

He made those claims after losing the popular vote, though winning the Electoral College and thus the White House, in 2016 when competing against Democratic Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.