Former Texas congressman and 2020
Democratic presidential candidate
Beto O’Rourke is calling on his party to adopt a more aggressive posture in the battle for political control — including embracing partisan gerrymandering in Democratic strongholds.
“We have to get serious. We have to be absolutely ruthless about getting back in power,” O’Rourke said during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s
State of the Union
with Jake Tapper. “So yes, in California, in Illinois, in New York — wherever we have the trifecta of power — we have to use that to its absolute extent.”
The comments came in response to a proposed
redistricting
plan in Texas, backed by former President Donald Trump, that could give Republicans as many as five additional congressional seats by redrawing district boundaries to dilute Democratic influence.
In a striking shift from traditional Democratic messaging on fair elections, O’Rourke endorsed California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent push to eliminate the state’s independent redistricting commission and return the authority to draw congressional maps to the state legislature — a move that would allow Democrats to draw district lines with political advantage in mind.
“Governor Newsom has talked about redistricting in his state. I think it’s time we matched fire with fire,” O’Rourke said. “Democrats in the past have too often been more concerned with being right than being in power. And we’ve seen Republicans only care about being in power, regardless of what’s right.”
Newsom, speaking at a press conference earlier this month, echoed the sentiment, warning Democrats against playing by rules Republicans don’t follow. “We can act holier than thou… or we can recognize the existential nature of this moment,” he said.
To change California’s redistricting process,
Newsom
would need to either pass a controversial law through the legislature — likely to face legal challenges — or put the matter to voters via a constitutional referendum. The independent redistricting commission was established by voters in 2010 to curb partisan influence in how district lines are drawn.
O’Rourke also cautioned that the GOP’s gerrymandering tactics could backfire by overextending Republican voters into too many districts, potentially making some previously safe Republican seats more competitive. “They may end up hurting themselves,” he warned, “if they try to get too cute.”
As partisan tensions over redistricting
escalate
ahead of the 2026 midterms, both parties appear to be rethinking their strategies — with power, not process, taking center stage.
