Dems' California redistricting mastermind flips script after helping party win 5 GOP seats: 'Kill'

Mitchell made his call in a San Francisco Chronicle op-ed published Wednesday, following California voters' approval of Proposition 50 in November 2025. The measure temporarily replaced the state's independently drawn congressional districts with a Democratic-friendly map for elections through 2030.

In his op-ed, Mitchell acknowledged that Proposition 50 was designed to benefit Democrats but defended it as a temporary response to Republican-led redistricting efforts in Texas. He argued that the focus should now shift toward ending partisan mapmaking altogether.

Republican losses create opening for reform

Mitchell suggested that Republicans' historic midterm losses might make them more receptive to redistricting reform after years of opposing it. "What makes now really important is that Republicans, who have opposed redistricting reform, should now realize that they lost in this war," he told Fox News Digital.

The California Democratic Party touted Prop 50 as a direct response to a Republican power grab orchestrated by President Donald Trump and state leaders in Texas, who redrew congressional district lines to gain five more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Governor Gavin Newsom similarly claimed the measure was about "standing up to bullies like Donald Trump."

Democrats succeeded in flipping all five targeted House seats in California during the November midterm elections, according to the Associated Press. Mitchell believes the Proposition 50 maps will remain in place through 2030, with the focus then shifting to restoring a fairer redistricting process.

National standards proposed

Mitchell called on Congress to prohibit mid-decade redistricting but argued that such a restriction alone wouldn't prevent partisan gerrymandering when states redraw their maps after each census. "I think the best solution would be independent commissions in every state," he said.

"The incoming Congress should make national redistricting a priority, establishing minimum standards for how all states draw their districts," Mitchell wrote in his opinion piece. He had previously supported legislation by Zoe Lofgren that would have set up national redistricting standards.

Mitchell, vice president of Political Data Inc. and owner of Redistricting Partners, has conducted more than 100 redistrictings for various states and local governments across his career. He emphasized that his current stance wasn't politically motivated but rather aimed at solving a persistent problem in American democracy.

States react to redistricting pressure

Following Democrats' victories in November's midterms, some states have floated redrawing their congressional maps ahead of the 2028 election cycle, according to Roll Call. Meanwhile, outgoing Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp announced he would not call a special legislative session to redraw congressional maps before his term ends in January 2027.

"As long as I'm governor, we will always respect the results of secure, accessible, and fair elections, and also abide by the laws and constitution of our state," Kemp said in a statement. Mitchell had previously worked to prevent redistricting wars, suggesting that congressional action could have avoided the current situation.

When asked about whether California's gerrymandered maps were necessary, Mitchell told "California Politics 360" that it would have been "a huge mistake" for Democrats to "sit" on their "laurels" after the successful midterm elections.