Former President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he supported a proposal by California Democrats to redraw congressional lines in response to a Republican-led push in Texas to gain additional US House seats but expressed unease with the broader effects of political gerrymandering.
“On this California issue, I want to see as a long-term goal that we do not have political gerrymandering in America. That would be my preference,” Obama said at an event Tuesday evening for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a liberal organization focused on the fight over congressional district lines, according to excerpts of his remarks shared with CNN.
He continued, “But I want to be very clear. Given that Texas is taking direction from a partisan White House that is effectively saying: gerrymander for partisan purposes so we can maintain the House despite our unpopular policies, redistrict right in the middle of a decade between censuses – which is not how the system was designed; I have tremendous respect for how Governor Newsom has approached this.”
The event, which also featured Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and NDRC chair Eric Holder, the former Obama administration attorney general, raised $2 million for the pro-Democratic redistricting organization.
Obama said that California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal for redistricting in response to Texas “is a responsible approach.”
“We’re not going to try to completely maximize it,” Obama said. “We’re only going to do it if and when Texas and/or other Republican states begin to pull these maneuvers. Otherwise, this doesn’t go into effect. And we’re going to do it in a temporary basis because we’re keeping our eye on where we want to be long term. I think that approach is a smart, measured approach, designed to address a very particular problem in a very particular moment in time.”
And Obama urged Texas Republicans to reconsider their plans, contrasting the state’s approach to its redistricting, steered by the state legislature, with California, which is set to put new maps before voters in a special election this fall.
“I’d love to see the people of Texas reject what’s happening, but it doesn’t look like, unlike in California, they’re being given the option of deciding whether this is a smart thing to do or not,” Obama said.
“I’ve had to wrestle with my preference, which would be that we don’t have political gerrymandering, but what I also know is that if we don’t respond effectively, then this White House and Republican-controlled state governments all across the country, they will not stop, because they do not appear to believe in this idea of an inclusive, expansive democracy.”
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