After a lightning speed rollout and campaign, Proposition 50 passed decisively last week, with voters approving a partisan temporary gerrymander of the state's congressional districts - and handing California Democrats a major win. The new maps will shift district lines and upend the seats of five Republican members of Congress, throwing them into distinctly less friendly territory - if Prop. 50 survives the GOP legal challenge filed the day after the election. Our guests today are two of the state's foremost redistricting experts, Matt Rexroad and Paul Mitchell. Rexroad is a former Yolo County Supervisor and longtime GOP consultant. Mitchell, a lifelong Democrat, is the state's best-known political data expert, and led the team that created Prop. 50's maps. They name the winners and losers in this epic political battle, walk us through the various legal challenges, and look ahead at what this means for redistricting reform in the long term. Plus: our longest-ever list of Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics. They say that success has many fathers but in the case of Proposition 50 there appear to be even more losers than winners. We'll go over the list, but ultimately leave the final decision to you!
After a lightning speed rollout and campaign, Proposition 50 passed decisively last week, with voters approving a partisan temporary gerrymander of the state's congressional districts - and handing California Democrats a major win. The new maps will shift district lines and upend the seats of five Republican members of Congress, throwing them into distinctly less friendly territory - if Prop. 50 survives the GOP legal challenge filed the day after the election. Our guests today are two of the state's foremost redistricting experts, Matt Rexroad and Paul Mitchell. Rexroad is a former Yolo County Supervisor and longtime GOP consultant. Mitchell, a lifelong Democrat, is the state's best-known political data expert, and led the team that created Prop. 50's maps. They name the winners and losers in this epic political battle, walk us through the various legal challenges, and look ahead at what this means for redistricting reform in the long term.
Plus: our longest-ever list of Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics. They say that success has many fathers but in the case of Proposition 50 there appear to be even more losers than winners. We'll go over the list, but ultimately leave the final decision to you!
2:35 Lourdes Ayon
5:58 Paul Mitchell and Matt Rexroad
6:55 Biggest winners and losers
8:52 "Shaking up the ant farm"
9:53 Remember the Recall
13:35 Influencers
15:13 Politico story
15:45 Turnout
18:18 The opposition: What happened?
20:16 Lawsuits
30:29 How do California districts compare to other states?
33:05 Possible reforms?
36:23 Which districts are most likely to flip?
42:25 The bottom line
47:13 Redistricting overreach?
54:35 #WWCA (click here to vote!)
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