| Californians are on edge. And I'm not talking about the distressing government shutdown or the roiling World Series. I'm referring to the other big deal on the near-horizon: next Tuesday's vote on Proposition 50. |
| If you live here, you surely have formed an opinion on the partisan gerrymander proposal that Gov. Gavin Newsom and his allies have put on the Nov. 4 ballot. In their world, Prop. 50 is as righteous as a Roki Sasaki fastball and as pure the alpine air on Mount Whitney. |
| In short, the Pro-50 argument goes: California is standing up to give Democrats a fair playing field nationally by temporarily rejiggering congressional election lines in America's most populous state. To which President Trump, his allies and even some moderates essentially counter: You're breaking the state's rules for drawing bipartisan political maps and it's all an unfair ego-play that benefits only nutty leftists, like the Golden State's ambitious governor. |
| It seems to me it takes an act of fairly advanced myopia to argue that Newsom and Co. are up to something underhanded, when their redistricting has been hiding in plain sight. The maps have been public. The nature of the challenge (or "threat" to many Californians) has become self-evident. Does the biggest state stand idly by while Team Trump draws Republican-friendly maps in right-leaning states, to assure a GOP majority in the House of Representatives? Does California vie for the Lady Byng trophy (given annually to the most "gentlemanly" player in roughneck pro hockey) while Trumpers jettison (Constitutional) principles like Cruella de Vil? |
| The state's Democrats and even many centrists who tilt left have seen enough of Trump's relentless immigration raids, his disregard for the healthcare benefits of millions and his disdain for all things California. They have taken to mad-dogging a mad-dog administration. And they pledge that this will be only a temporary corrective, with the return of the state's bipartisan redistricting commission following the 2030 census. |
| California Republicans, understandably, feel like they're about to lose an already slippery toehold on representation in California. To them, Prop. 50 amounts to pummeling an already abused minority party and stealing away as many as five House seats. But, oddly, I haven't heard them voice much concern about similar manipulation in other states, where Democrats stand to get the short end. |
| The Dems could lose as many as 17 seats nationwide because of all the partisan map-making, analysts have told The Times's political whiz, Mark Z. Barabak. That number remains in flux, because of ongoing action in Indiana and other states and legal challenges that could upend everything. A flip of that many seats could be huge in a law-making body in which the GOP has held as few as 219 votes, just one more than needed to pass legislation and the smallest majority in 95 years. The GOP edge would be even smaller if Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) would stop slow-walking the swearing in of one Democrat elected in a special election to represent Arizona. |
| All this already has Californians on both side of the political chasm on high alert. Yet the president somehow (as he often does) found a way to ratchet up the anxiety. He did it by ordering election "monitors" to California, ostensibly to make sure scads of undocumented immigrants don't find a way to cast illegal ballots. |
| The president's intervention feels more like another provocation to Newsom and Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, who already watched Trump ignore their pleas not to deploy the National Guard to abet his aggressive immigration raids. Democrats fear the election monitors will act more like obstructionists, potentially rejecting valid ballots to steal the election for the GOP. |
| Newsom called the deployment of the observers to five counties — Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside — an "intimidation tactic," while Bonta predicted that the president will try to find an excuse after the election to once again play the "election fraud" card. |
| While some will read the Prop. 50 outcome as a proxy for Newsom's viability in a 2028 presidential run, the governor insists it stands for a lot more. Newsom warned last week that Trump might send masked ICE agents to try to intimidate voters, in preparation for more misdeeds, as he builds "the scaffolding for all across this country [for] next November's [midterm] election." |
| California's 40th governor sounded a more hopeful note Tuesday as he described the 1.2 million contributors across America who raised $38 million for Prop. 50. But he said voters should assume nothing; presumably including polls showing Prop. 50 ahead. "Don't think for a second we can run the 90-yard dash," the governor cautioned. "This election is not over. So let's do everything in our power to focus on getting out the vote." |
Today's top stories |
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| (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) |
Looming hunger from SNAP cuts |
- Leaders across California are anticipating a deluge of need at local food banks as SNAP recipients realize their CalFresh cards have not been loaded with November funds.
- The White House and Republicans have blamed Democrats for shutting down the government and causing the disruption. Democrats say Trump could release emergency funds.
- "We anticipate a huge surge in people extremely upset to find out that they've literally shopped, and the groceries are in their cart, and their kids are probably with them, and then they get to the checkout, and then it's, 'transaction denied: insufficient funds,'" one nonprofit leader told the Times.
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The Blue Jays beat the Dodgers last night |
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For sale: Warner Bros. Discovery |
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What else is going on |
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Commentary and opinions |
- Republicans' war on food stamps has a long, ugly history, business columnist Michael Hiltzik writes.
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This morning's must reads |
| | | From fashionable details seen on glamorous guests to dazzling runway moments. | | | |
Other must reads |
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| Keep up with California | Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. | | | | | |
For your downtime |
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| The signature "L.A." churro from Santa Canela in Highland Park. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times) |
Going out |
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Staying in |
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A question for you: What are your go-to easy Halloween costumes? |
| Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. |
And finally ... your photo of the day |
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| Fisherman Dick Ogg, left, talks with first mate Bradlee Titus, right, as they head back to port after crab fishing in Bodega Bay. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times) |
| Today's great photo is from L.A. Times photographer Brian van der Brug of crab fishers in Bodega Bay. |
Have a great day, from the Essential California team |
| Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters |
| How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com. |
