On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stated that she agrees with the assessment of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) that the 2026 midterm elections are being “rigged” by Republicans.
Host Jake Tapper asked, “Democratic governors…in places such as California are vowing to fight this tit for tat, do you support that? Should California respond with their own redistricted map to give Democrats more seats?”
Pelosi answered, “Yes. But before I go into that, let me just say that what you just described was the elimination of many minority seats in Texas, and that’s unfortunate, because the gerrymandering that they’re doing is also undermining the diversity that we need to have in the Congress. As far as California is concerned, we would go to a commission. We have a commission-based redistricting, instead of the gerrymandering that they’re doing in Texas. We’ve had a commission that has drawn the lines in California, we would alter that a bit in order to pick up the seats that we need. It’s not necessary if Texas doesn’t do this, but the Texas redistricting, and what the president has talked about in other parts [of] the country is indicative of the poverty of ideas that the Republicans have and they have to resort to this kind of gimmickry in order to try to hold the House. But we will hold the House and we will participate in California if Texas decides to go forward.”
Tapper then asked, “Your Governor, Gavin Newsom, said that ‘The 2026 election is being rigged’ by the Republicans. Is that how you see it?”
Pelosi responded, “Absolutely, absolutely. But it’s who they are. But, again, so much is at stake in this election. We fully intend to take back the House. We only need about three seats. I want 30, of course. And they know that. That’s why they have to go into this rigging process. But we will — again, we have the capacity to have more seats in California. We can win them in the election or we can ensure them in the change in the commission, now, with the caveat that the commission would, in the next redistricting, go back to drawing the lines.”
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