What to know about California’s midterm elections

Redistricting in California, the most populous US state, could flip control of US House from Republican to Democrat.

Democrats are hoping that California's redrawn voting districts will help the party secure more seats in Congress and challenge President Trump's power [File: Mike Blake/Reuters]

As voters across the United States head to the polls for the midterm elections – widely seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s second term in office – the state of California is set to play an important role.

Several races across the country’s most populous state could help determine whether the Democratic Party takes control of the US House of Representatives, where Trump’s Republican Party currently holds a slim majority.

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California’s ballot initiatives – or policy decisions made by voters – have also received national attention.

Perhaps the biggest difference in this year’s elections, however, is the introduction of new congressional district maps drawn up through a partisan redistricting initiative approved by California voters last year.

That initiative aims to net at least five additional Democratic Party seats in the House, where Republicans have a four-seat majority.

Which California races are competitive, who are the main candidates and how has the state’s redistricting push changed the electoral landscape?

When is election day?

The election will be held on Tuesday, November 3. California polls will be open from 7am (15:00 GMT) to 8pm (04:00 GMT Wednesday). Mail ballots must be postmarked by election day.

What is partisan redistricting?

The House is divided into 435 districts, each represented by one member of Congress elected by their constituents. While congressional districts are populated equally, their boundaries are set by states and can shift.

Partisan redistricting involves states drawing those district maps in a way that advantages candidates from one party over another.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and Trump critic, first proposed a one-time statewide redistricting effort in response to seven Republican-led states redrawing their maps in an attempt to secure seats for Republicans. Although California had banned partisan redistricting, Newsom pitched the idea as an unfortunate but necessary retaliatory measure.

California voters approved the redistricting plan in a 2025 ballot measure – Proposition 50 – that temporarily suspended the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission until 2030. California then drew new maps to make several Republican strongholds more competitive for Democratic challengers.

As a result, the handful of districts previously seen as favourable terrain for Republicans have instead become hotly-contested races between the two parties.

What races are being watched?

California has 52 members in the House of Representatives – the most of any state – with Republicans holding just eight of the seats. There are several closely watched state races in the Democratic Party’s effort to secure a majority in the House, the lower chamber of the US Congress.

One is the 22nd congressional district, located in California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley. The district map was redrawn under Proposition 50, setting up one of the state’s most contentious races in a former Republican stronghold.

Incumbent Republican Representative David Valadao is locked in a tight race with Democratic challenger Randy Villegas. Valadao has portrayed himself as a moderate, while Villegas has hammered him over issues such as the rising cost of living, healthcare and Trump’s immigration crackdowns – a key issue for the area’s immigrant farm-working communities.

California’s 48th district, a traditionally Republican stronghold which includes parts of San Diego County near the border with Mexico, is also considered highly competitive after its boundaries were redrawn. The district’s longtime representative, Republican Darrell Issa, decided to retire after the redistricting, with two local officials – Republican Jim Desmond and Democratic San Diego Councilmember Marni von Wilpert – now vying for the seat.

While California’s redistricting aimed to make historically reliable Republican districts more competitive for Democrats, the process has also had some unexpected impacts: Two Republican members of Congress, Representatives Ken Calvert and Young Kim, have found themselves locked in a bitter race against each other after redrawn maps put them in the same district.

Who is running for governor?

Vying to replace Governor Newsom are Republican political commentator Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra. Becerra is a former California attorney general and secretary of health and human services during former President Joe Biden’s administration.

Hilton has blasted Becerra for rising crime and homelessness as well as high fuel prices in California, where a gallon (3.78 litres) of petrol costs $5.95 compared with $4.22 nationally, according to the American Automobile Association. Heavily favoured in the Democratic stronghold state, Becerra has sought to associate Hilton with Trump, who is deeply unpopular among Californians.

Polls show Becerra with a strong lead over the Republican challenger. A recent Emerson poll suggested that he was ahead by 27 points.

What ballot initiatives are voters deciding on?

California voters will also weigh in on a handful of policy questions, including a tax on billionaires and whether the state should adopt mandatory voter ID.

Perhaps the most contentious is Proposition 40, a one-time tax on billionaires to help fund healthcare and education. The measure is one of three impacting the state’s ultra-wealthy residents, with the referendums dubbed the “billionaire battle”.

The tax would apply to about 200 of the wealthiest people in California, according to the news website CalMatters. The proposition is opposed by powerful industries and tech titans, who have poured more than $152m into fighting the ballot measure compared with $33m raised in support of the tax, a California public radio station KQED reports.

The measure has drawn opposition from figures such as Google cofounder Sergey Brin, who has given more than $102m to defeat the referendum, as well as Hilton, Becerra and Newsom. Despite being supported by the Democratic Party, Proposition 40 is also being fought by some progressive groups opposed to the one-time tax.

Other progressives such as Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Ro Khanna, a wealthy member of Congress from California’s Silicon Valley, support the referendum.

Two other ballot measures, Propositions 41 and 42, would effectively nullify Proposition 40 if approved by voters.

Another measure, Proposition 39, has also been the subject of fierce debate. If passed, it would require Californians to show government-issued IDs in order to vote.

While supporters say mandatory IDs will bolster confidence in elections by countering voter fraud, studies have found that fraudulent voting is nearly nonexistent in the US.

Critics say that voter ID laws add obstacles to voting by requiring government-issued documents, such as a driver’s licence, that not all citizens hold. They argue that strong safeguards ensuring only eligible voters cast ballots are already in place.

美国人口最多的州加利福尼亚州重新划分选区，可能会使美国众议院的控制权从共和党转移到民主党。

民主党人希望加州重新划分的选区能够帮助该党在国会赢得更多席位，从而挑战特朗普总统的权力。[图片：Mike Blake/路透社]

随着美国各地选民前往投票站参加中期选举——此次选举被广泛视为对唐纳德·特朗普总统第二个任期的全民公投——加利福尼亚州将发挥重要作用。

在全美人口最多的州，多场选举的结果可能有助于决定民主党能否控制美国众议院，目前特朗普领导的共和党在众议院仅占微弱多数。

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加州的投票倡议——或者说选民做出的政策决定——也受到了全国的关注。

然而，今年选举最大的不同之处或许在于引入了新的国会选区地图，这些地图是通过去年加州选民批准的一项党派重新划分选区倡议绘制的。

该倡议旨在为民主党在众议院赢得至少五个席位，目前共和党在众议院拥有四个席位的多数优势。

加州哪些选举竞争激烈？主要候选人是谁？该州重新划分选区如何改变了选举格局？

选举日是什么时候？

选举将于11月3日星期二举行。加州投票站的开放时间为上午7点（格林尼治标准时间15:00）至晚上8点（格林尼治标准时间星期三04:00）。邮寄选票的邮戳日期必须在选举日当天或之前。

什么是党派选区重划？

众议院分为435个选区，每个选区由一名国会议员代表，这些议员由选民选举产生。虽然各选区的人口数量大致相同，但选区边界由各州划定，并且可能会有所变动。

党派选区重划是指各州以有利于某一政党候选人而非另一政党候选人的方式绘制选区地图。

加州州长加文·纽森是民主党人，也是特朗普的批评者。此前，七个共和党执政的州重新划分选区，试图为共和党争取更多席位。纽森最初提出在全州范围内进行一次性选区重划，以此回应这些州重新划分选区的做法。尽管加州已经禁止党派划分选区，但纽森仍将此举视为一项无奈但必要的报复措施。

加州选民在 2025 年的投票中批准了重新划分选区的方案——第 50 号提案——该提案暂时中止了该州无党派选区重划委员会的工作，直至 2030 年。随后，加州绘制了新的选区地图，使几个共和党的大本营对民主党挑战者更具竞争力。

因此，之前被认为是共和党有利的少数几个选区，现在变成了两党竞争激烈的选区。

哪些比赛备受关注？

加利福尼亚州在众议院拥有52个席位，是各州中最多的，但共和党仅占其中8席。民主党正努力争取在众议院（美国国会下议院）获得多数席位，因此该州有多场选举备受关注。

其中之一是位于加州农业资源丰富的中央谷地的第22国会选区。根据第50号提案，该选区地图进行了重新划分，使得这个曾经的共和党堡垒成为了加州竞争最激烈的选区之一。

现任共和党众议员戴维·瓦拉道与民主党挑战者兰迪·维勒加斯的选情胶着。瓦拉道一直标榜自己是温和派，而维勒加斯则在生活成本上涨、医疗保健以及特朗普的移民政策等问题上对他发起猛烈抨击——移民政策对该地区以务农为生的移民社区来说至关重要。

加州第48选区历来是共和党的票仓，涵盖圣地亚哥县靠近墨西哥边境的部分地区。选区重新划分后，该选区的竞争也变得异常激烈。该选区长期担任众议员的共和党人达雷尔·伊萨在选区重新划分后决定退休，目前两名当地官员——共和党人吉姆·德斯蒙德和民主党圣地亚哥市议员玛尼·冯·威尔珀特——正在角逐该席位。

加州重新划分选区的目的是为了让历史上共和党占优势的选区对民主党更有竞争力，但这一过程也产生了一些意想不到的影响：两名共和党国会议员，肯·卡尔弗特和杨金，在重新划分选区后，发现自己陷入了一场激烈的竞争。

谁在竞选州长？

角逐加州州长纽森继任者一职的候选人包括共和党政治评论员史蒂夫·希尔顿和民主党人泽维尔·贝塞拉。贝塞拉曾任加州总检察长，并在前总统乔·拜登执政期间担任卫生与公众服务部部长。

希尔顿猛烈抨击贝塞拉，指责他导致加州犯罪率和无家可归者人数上升，以及燃油价格高企。据美国汽车协会（AAA）的数据显示，加州每加仑（3.78升）汽油的价格为5.95美元，而全美平均价格为4.22美元。贝塞拉在民主党的大本营加州拥有极高的支持率，他一直试图将希尔顿与在加州极不受欢迎的特朗普联系起来。

民调显示，贝塞拉大幅领先共和党挑战者。艾默生学院最近的一项民调显示，他领先27个百分点。

选民们将对哪些投票提案进行投票表决？

加州选民还将对一些政策问题进行投票表决，包括对亿万富翁征税以及该州是否应该实行强制性选民身份识别制度。

最具争议的或许是第40号提案，这是一项针对亿万富翁的一次性税收，旨在为医疗保健和教育提供资金。该提案是影响加州超级富豪的三项公投之一，这些公投也被称为“亿万富翁之战”。

据新闻网站CalMatters报道，这项税收将适用于加州约200位最富有的人。加州公共广播电台KQED报道称，这项提案遭到实力雄厚的行业巨头和科技巨头的反对，他们已投入超过1.52亿美元用于反对这项投票提案，而支持该税收的资金仅为3300万美元。

这项提案遭到了包括谷歌联合创始人谢尔盖·布林在内的多位人士的反对，布林已捐款超过1.02亿美元以阻止公投通过。此外，希尔顿、贝塞拉和纽森也持反对意见。尽管民主党支持第40号提案，但一些进步团体也反对这项一次性税收。

其他进步人士，如佛蒙特州参议员伯尼·桑德斯和来自加州硅谷的富裕国会议员罗·卡纳，都支持这项公投。

另外两项投票提案，即第 41 号提案和第 42 号提案，如果获得选民批准，将有效地使第 40 号提案无效。

另一项提案，即第39号提案，也引发了激烈的辩论。如果该提案获得通过，加州选民在投票时必须出示政府颁发的身份证件。

支持者表示，强制身份证件将通过打击选民欺诈来增强人们对选举的信心，但研究发现，在美国，欺诈性投票几乎不存在。

批评人士指出，选民身份验证法要求提供政府颁发的证件，例如驾照，而并非所有公民都持有此类证件，这无疑增加了投票的障碍。他们认为，现有的强有力的保障措施已经确保只有符合资格的选民才能投票。