Why Prop. 50 is the hollowest of victories for California Democrats | Opinion
The passage of Proposition 50 is the hollowest of victories for a Democratic Party that remains as unpopular as ever, and now cheats at drawing political maps just like the Republicans. President Donald Trump took democracy into the gutter by compelling red states to cheat by redrawing political boundaries to help Republicans and now Democrats in California will copy the tactic because Prop. 50 allows them to cheat by redrawing their own districts to help Democrats.
That’s some contrast.
A lot of California voters undoubtedly were taking their frustrations out at the ballot box against a president they increasingly loathe, and for some perfectly valid reasons. But any feeling of accomplishment in the passage of Prop. 50 is likely illusory.
When Democrats make Trump the top issue at the national level, they lose more than they win. It’s not enough to tell voters what you are against. Democrats, at the national party level, have absolutely no idea what they are actually for.
Against Trump in 2024, “they came up with no alternative,” Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders recently told the New York Times. He was right then. He is right to feel the same way now.
“They, even today, don’t acknowledge the economic crises facing the working class of this country,” Sanders said. “They’re not fighting for the working class. What the Democratic Party has been is a billionaire-funded, consultant-driven party — and way out of touch with where the working class of this country is.”
There is really flimsy math behind the Democrats’ political strategy of gerrymandering as their path to victory in 2026. Cheating won’t help their candidates define how they’re different. Cheating is a distraction for a party that needs to focus on its own shortcomings.
Who’s even more out of touch than Trump?
Americans increasingly concerned with Trump are undoubtedly looking for an alternate, clear vision on how to better lead this country. They’re not getting that from Democrats. This is a party that is both out of power and whose leadership is out of ideas.
Only 41% of Americans support Trump’s performance on the job, according to a recent survey by the Washington Post and others. A full 63% say he is out of touch with their lives.
Yet Americans think even less of Democrats. According to 68% of those surveyed, the Democrats are out of touch as well.
The disconnection of the Democratic Party with the American People is by far the greatest threat to this party’s future. No amount of congressional map cheating can paper over this problem. And Prop. 50 only makes Democrats look worse in parts of the country that already believed our state isn’t golden at all.
While the party is without a message, it is also without a messenger who resonates beyond the shrinking ranks of the party faithful.
The big winner Tuesday was California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, who was the brainchild behind Prop. 50 and rode this political stunt for all its national value. Its passage will further cement his position as the top Democrat standing up against Trump.
Gavin Newsom’s narrow appeal
Yet the rise of Newsom is simply among the die-hard Democrats. They like how Newsom has been trolling Trump. But the California governor is not broadening the appeal of his party. He certainly isn’t the Democrat who can say that he made his state a more affordable, livable place. There is a reason Newsom keeps the focus on Trump and not himself.
Democrats in California better get busy celebrating now, because a political hangover of epic proportions is just around the corner.
Prop. 50 will keep these politically redrawn maps in place for just three Congressional elections. Perhaps as many as five Democrats will replace Republicans (and we’ll never know how many could have simply won with a better message).
But then come 2032, fairly drawn maps by the independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission will likely displace those Democrats. California also is expected to lose as many as five Congressional seats to fast-growing states like Florida and Texas. Add all this up, and some historic political turmoil is just over the horizon.
The demise of the Democratic Party couldn’t have come at a worse time in American history. Prop. 50 is a step backward for Democrats seeking to protect the nation’s democracy.
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Why Prop. 50 is the hollowest of victories for California Democrats | Opinion."