This week marks a flashpoint in an escalating and unprecedented fight over redistricting, with the country’s two most populous states taking center stage and control of the US House during the second half of President Donald Trump’s term potentially at stake.

The redistricting push in Calfornia to counter Republicans in Texas is Gov. Gavin Newsom’s most direct challenge yet to President Donald Trump and the national political discourse. Newsom has also

In North Carolina, Republicans are a few votes shy of a supermajority in one chamber but still control the redistricting process because the state’s congressional maps are not subject to veto and therefore can be passed by a simple majority in the legislature.

The blistering Texas summer is usually a time when candidates announce their campaigns and begin raising money for the election year ahead. This Texas summer has been cooler than normal, and so has the announcement period for some of the high-profile 2026 races.

The California Legislature comes back from a summer recess and is slated to vote on a partisan plan to redraw congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Gavin Newsom knows the popular image of him is of a smooth talker with slicked-back hair, the wealthy liberal who co-owns a vineyard.

Kamala Harris endorsed the redraw at a Teamsters National Black Caucus conference on Saturday. In her first public comments on California’s redistricting play, she said she’s “proud” that her home state’s politicians were going to take a national redistricting war “to the voters, take it to the streets.”

Many state delegations are already under single-party control. New maps could tighten the partisan grip while decreasing the importance of general elections.