California Governor Gavin Newsom tore into Sen. Ted Cruz this week after the Texas Republican made a basic math mistake while trying to slam Newsom over redistricting.
Newsom has been threatening to redraw California’s congressional maps in response to Texas Republicans’ push to gerrymander their own state. That GOP plan, backed by Donald Trump, would likely hand Texas Republicans five more seats in Congress.
Cruz fired back online, comparing California’s 43-9 Democratic majority in the House to Texas’s 24-14 Republican split. But he botched the numbers while trying to make a point.
Cruz wrote:
“If California gerrymanders from its current 43-9 Dem advantage (83%) to a 51-0 Dem advantage (100%)…
…then Texas should go from a 24-14 GOP advantage (63%) to 38-0 (100%).”
Newsom quickly pounced on the math fail:
“43+9=52
51+0=51
Please learn math.”
Cruz’s post didn’t last long. He deleted it and reposted with corrected numbers. Newsom wasn’t done.
“Ted Cruz treating his posts like Cancun: Gets caught, then disappears.”
That jab was a not-so-subtle dig at Cruz’s infamous trip to Cancun during the deadly 2021 Texas freeze, which he blamed on his daughters.
Cruz fired back Thursday:
“Like all charlatans, @GavinNewsom resorts to insults & distractions to hide the truth.
Gavin, 2 Qs:
why do the 38% of CA Republicans deserve ZERO representation?
if CA goes to 100%, why shouldn’t TX?”
Newsom made his redistricting threat clear on Tuesday, saying he would move forward after Trump and Texas Republicans ignored a warning to back off. He did it in full Trump style, mocking the president’s tone on social media:
“DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!! CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!),”
He ended with more showmanship:
“BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR ‘MAGA.’ THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! — GN”
The math mistake may have been minor — but Newsom used it to paint Cruz as sloppy, and to sharpen his fight over what both sides agree is a high-stakes political power grab.
Ted Cruz treating his posts like Cancun:
Gets caught, then disappears. https://t.co/SOWCF5AA3o pic.twitter.com/aP5T7S1Y0L
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 14, 2025
