GOP leader disputes Newsom's comments on Colbert's show

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) – The Republican leader in the California Assembly said Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom went too far when he told CBS host Stephen Colbert he feared there would be no free election in 2028.

“That’s ridiculous. We’ve had elections every four years for president,” Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher, R-Nicolaus, told The Center Square Wednesday afternoon. “People saying that kind of stuff only fan the flames more.”

On CBS' “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Tuesday, the Democratic governor accused Republican President Donald Trump of taking authoritarian actions against Americans and criticized the president's deployment of the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles. He also criticized the Trump administration for its U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids by masked officers and said he was proud of signing a bill prohibiting such masks.

Newsom also accused Trump of trying to rig the 2026 midterm elections by persuading Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to lead redistricting efforts to pick up five more Republican seats in the U.S. House. 

During the Colbert show filmed at The Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, Newsom said Trump’s efforts to redistrict in states such as Texas, Indiana, Missouri, Florida and likely Ohio shows the president is trying to rig the 2026 midterm election. The governor said he fears that at this rate, any elections in 2028 would be in the style of a dictator, Russia President Vladimir Putin.

Newsom and the Democratic supermajorities in the California Assembly and Senate are pushing back with Proposition 50, which would replace the work of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission with new districts that Republicans say will pick up five more seats for Democrats. 

As previously reported by The Center Square, the redistricting would split counties and cities. For example, Lodi, a Northern California city of 66,000 people, would be divided among three districts. A Center Square review of the redistricting map found heavily Republican Orange County would be divided so that its congressional districts include parts of Democratic Los Angeles County.

During The Center Square interview, Gallagher said California, Texas and other states shouldn’t do congressional redistricting in the middle of a decade. 

The Republican leader said he would support separate proposals by Democrats in the California delegation to Congress and U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-California, to prevent such redistricting. The Democratic proposal, the Redistricting Reform Act, goes one step further and would require states to have independent redistricting commissions.

Proposition 50 isn’t the answer and would rob Californians of their representation, Gallagher said. He noted Republicans, who make up 17% of the California delegation in Congress, would see that percentage fall to 7% under Proposition 50.

He also noted Texas is fairer to its minority party. Democrats make up 30% of the congressional delegation in Texas and would see that figure fall to 18% under redistricting, he said.