California Gov. Gavin Newsom is coming out swinging in the state’s redistricting fight — and he’s putting Donald Trump front and center as the enemy.
On Tuesday, Newsom launched the first wave of a no-holds-barred ad campaign aimed at pushing Proposition 50 across the finish line in November’s special election. It’s a high-dollar, high-intensity media offensive that Newsom’s team is calling “shock and awe” — and it’s clear they’re not playing defense.
“This is a shock and awe approach,” said Sean Clegg, a senior strategist for Newsom. “It’s not your grandmother’s media campaign where you do one woodworking ad and put it across all platforms. We’re living in a very different media environment.”
The campaign dropped two initial ads across social media — just the beginning of at least nine spots planned for the week. The goal: drive up turnout among Democrats and left-leaning independents, and frame Prop 50 as a firewall against Trump’s attempts to game the system.
The first ad, bluntly titled “Blitzkrieg,” doesn’t waste time. It accuses Trump of “following the dictator’s playbook,” slams his crackdown on immigration and universities, and warns that he’s “coming directly for our democracy” by pressuring red states to redraw congressional maps to the GOP’s advantage. The message is simple: a yes vote on Prop 50 is a vote to stop Trump.
The second ad, featuring Sara Sadwani of California’s independent redistricting commission, is aimed at calming nerves among skeptical independents. She calls the measure “an emergency for our democracy,” and reassures viewers that the proposed maps are temporary.
Both ads end with the same hard-hitting tagline: “Save democracy in all 50 states.” It’s a calculated attempt to nationalize the fight, turning a California redistricting measure into a referendum on Trumpism.
The campaign is focusing on digital platforms like YouTube, where they’re outspending traditional TV by a three-to-two margin. The move reflects both the shifting media landscape and the sheer cost of California’s media markets.
Newsom’s team knows the stakes are high — and they’re not tiptoeing. While the governor doesn’t appear in the first two spots, a third ad featuring him went live later on Tuesday, and the campaign says he’ll be a central voice throughout. They’re also planning to bring in national Democratic figures — unnamed for now — to amplify the message, just as they did during the 2021 recall battle.
The other side isn’t sitting idle. A committee opposing Prop 50 — backed by GOP mega-donor Charles Munger Jr. — released its own ad this week, warning that the measure would dismantle California’s independent redistricting process, which voters approved nearly two decades ago to prevent partisan gerrymandering.
But Newsom’s camp is betting that Trump is the stronger villain.
Clegg said the campaign will hit a variety of issues — including healthcare and the economy — but believes the democracy messaging is what’s really landing now that Trump is back in power.
“The democracy stuff is cutting because Trump has now overreached,” Clegg said. “It’s not theoretical anymore.”
Democrats have tried to sound the alarm before. Kamala Harris made a last-ditch pitch around creeping authoritarianism during her 2024 presidential run, but it flopped with voters more worried about inflation. This time, Newsom is wagering that Trump’s return to power has shifted the ground — and that Californians will show up to push back.
In a state where Trump remains deeply unpopular, Newsom’s playbook is simple: make the redistricting fight personal, national, and impossible to ignore.
