Newsom Admits He Got Obama’s ‘Permission’ Before Pushing California’s Redistricting Power Grab

Breaking

California Gov. Gavin Newsom told a Democratic audience in Lexington, South Carolina, this week that he sought Barack Obama’s blessing before pushing Proposition 50, the aggressive redistricting measure California voters approved in November 2025. “The only way I could feel that I had real permission was I called you-know-who… Barack Obama,” Newsom said, then added: “I called you know who — Barack Obama. Because I’m like, come on, ‘we go high…’ I wish I can tell you exactly what he said. Let’s just say, green light.”

The admission came during a multi-stop swing through South Carolina as part of Newsom’s four-day “Take It Back” tour of the Deep South, a trip widely read as early positioning for a possible 2028 presidential campaign. At the same stop, Newsom took direct aim at President Trump, telling the crowd, “We saw the president of the United States try to light democracy on fire, try to destroy our democracy,” and warning that Trump was “trying to rig the election before one vote is cast.”

Details & Background

Proposition 50 redrew California’s congressional map in a way that shifted five Republican-held districts toward Democrats, a move designed to offset GOP-friendly redistricting efforts in states like Texas. According to earlier reporting, Newsom reached out to Obama in the summer of 2025 while he was, in his own words, “very nervous” about pursuing the plan — and Obama reportedly responded encouragingly before Newsom had even finished his pitch.

Obama later campaigned directly for the measure, warning voters that “democracy is on the ballot” if it failed — language critics were quick to note echoed exactly the kind of election-manipulation warnings Democrats typically level at Republicans. Proposition 50 passed with a comfortable majority, and its success has been credited with brightening Newsom’s national profile even as it casts a shadow over the fairness arguments both parties have made about redistricting for years, particularly given Democrats’ long-standing advocacy for independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions.

Reactions

Outside Newsom’s South Carolina stops, Republican-organized protesters greeted him with signs reading “Wrong Coast,” “Don’t California My South Carolina,” and “Go Home Gavin,” while state GOP leaders used his visit to needle him on his own record. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said the state didn’t need “Gavin Newsom’s twisted version of America in the Palmetto State,” and state GOP Chair Drew McKissick told supporters Newsom “won’t find many takers here.”

Inside the events, the reception was starkly different — Newsom reportedly received standing ovations at all three of his South Carolina stops — underscoring how his redistricting admission and his broader anti-Trump message are landing very differently depending on the audience. Newsom himself acknowledged the uphill climb his party faces, telling supporters, “What happened to Democrats over the last 20 years? We started to see red and we said, ‘It’s not worth the drive.’”

Why This Matters to You

Redistricting fights are usually fought in technical, state-by-state terms, but Newsom’s own words just confirmed what Republicans have argued for months: that California’s map redraw wasn’t a purely local decision, it was coordinated with the former president and framed internally as a national strategic play. That matters heading into a midterm cycle where control of the House could come down to a handful of redrawn districts, in California and beyond.

It also matters because Newsom is delivering this message while explicitly testing a 2028 presidential campaign in a state Democrats haven’t won in decades. Whether voters see his redistricting admission as savvy hardball politics or an uncomfortable admission of backroom dealing, it’s likely to follow him as he continues positioning himself for a national run and as both parties eye redistricting as a weapon heading into future election cycles.