In a wide-ranging interview with the Washington Examiner, Issa criticized the new districts in the map, calling them “disgusting,” and said they were deliberately drawn to eliminate Republican representation in the state. Particularly petty is that mapmakers studied the home addresses of Republican lawmakers and out of spite, drew Issa out of his district, he said.  

“They looked at my home address in Bonsall, and drew it out, my actual residence,” Issa added. “And there was no reason to do it, except that they were carefully drawing me out of it so that I either have to move again or be somebody running that can’t vote for themselves.” 

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who will be termed out of office next year and is the front-runner for the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in 2028, has made it his mission to get Proposition 50 passed. He’s rallied thousands of voters and union members across the state, courted national media outlets, showed up on television programs, heart-over-hand, pitching himself as the only one who can save democracy. He’s managed to turn a mid-decade redistricting battle into one between California and Trump. 

Newsom has been accused of being on the ultimate power trip and using intimidation tactics to bully donors and secure a “backroom deal” to wipe out California Republicans in Congress. 

“He’s intimidated any potential donor, any business, any individual contributing anything to oppose Prop 50,” Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), whose district is also being redrawn, told the Washington Examiner. “His quest is to eliminate any opposing voices. It’s just ultimate power.”

Calvert said Newsom has “made it quite known that he is on the revenge circuit” and that “he’s going to remember anybody who puts money into opposing Proposition 50.” He added that the environment Newsom is creating breeds fear and intimidation and that business owners are scared to challenge the ballot measure due to possible repercussions.  

Caught in the crossfire of Newsom’s political aspirations and beef with Trump are five California Republican lawmakers, including Issa and Calvert, who are at risk of losing their seats. These lawmakers are not only at risk but their constituents in rural areas and conservative pockets of the state could see their representation dramatically changed. 

“So, how does a MAGA Republican win in a [Kamala] Harris district?” Issa said. “It’s designed to be somewhere between difficult and impossible. They drew it that way. They literally drew Ken Calvert’s district, made it disappear, while giving me the worst of his district. … They didn’t just look at the map. They looked at our home addresses. They looked at all of the demographics to figure out how to draw each of the five of us out of business. Disgusting.” 

California’s Proposition 50, backed by Newsom and Democrats, was triggered in response to Trump’s urging of Texas to change its maps to give Republicans a five-seat advantage in next year’s midterm elections. Since then, other red states, including Missouri, North Carolina, and Utah, have followed suit.

Unlike Texas, where state lawmakers have control over drawing the state’s congressional map, California’s process is more complicated. Its constitution requires that an independent redistricting commission draw the map and that voters approve any changes made to it. That means even though the state legislature passed the proposed map, voters will decide on Nov. 4 whether it will be used for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections.

If voters approve it, it would turn three Republican-held seats into safe Democratic seats, making two others more Democratic-leaning. Specifically, the map would change districts held by Reps. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) in Northern California. In Southern California, Issa and Calvert would be at risk, and in the Central Valley, Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) would have a much harder time getting reelected if the map is passed.

Issa represents the 48th Congressional District, which encompasses the central and eastern parts of San Diego and a portion of Riverside County, including the communities of Bonsall, Fallbrook, Ramona, Escondido, Valley Center, Poway, Lakeside, Alpine, Temecula, Murrieta, and the mountain and desert areas of the San Diego-Imperial County line. The new map would stretch his district more than 100 miles and include a lot more Democrats. 

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“I’m a big boy,” Issa said. “I’ve been doing this a long time. I don’t expect generosity from the other party, but some reasonable consideration for the constituents for not giving, not switching members, just for the sake of screwing it up, trying to provide compactness and continuity of representation and association. All of those things are part of what’s now being not just interrupted every 10 years, but now doing it in less than five.”

Before he was known for his closeness with Trump, Issa made a name for himself with partisan attacks on former President Barack Obama. Issa’s friendliness with the current president has made him a target of Newsom’s. 

Last week, Issa and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) filed a lawsuit challenging California’s efforts to redraw its congressional lines.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday and dismissed by a federal judge in the Northern District of Texas on Friday, alleged Proposition 50 directly hurt Issa as a congressman and a California voter. Issa claimed if Democrats gained control of the House, he would lose “seniority advantages in committee proceedings” and have “reduced influence over legislative priorities and committee work affecting my constituents.” He said a shift in his power would negatively affect veterans and immigrant communities in his district. 

Jackson claimed he would “will lose specific, concrete resources and authority necessary to serve his constituents because California’s scheme will succeed in flipping House control.” The lawsuit named Newsom and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber as defendants and asked the judge to stop the implementation of the new map should it pass on Tuesday.  

“This is another example of Congressman Issa being delusional and failing the people in his district,” San Diego resident Jackie Johnson told the Washington Examiner. “What has he ever done for us? We are voting on the maps and he is in court arguing our voices don’t matter. They do and he’ll hear them when we vote him out of office.” 

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Marni von Wilpert, a Democratic San Diego councilmember who flipped the city’s most conservative district blue in 2020, announced she would challenge Issa, an 11-term incumbent, in the new proposed 48th District. She added that the way the lines were redrawn gives a younger LGBT Democrat like her a better shot at topping Issa.

Other Democratic congressional hopefuls and at least one Republican have also said or at least hinted they would switch districts to Issa’s if voters approve the new map. Democrats Brandon Riker, Anuj Dixit, and Abel Chavez, who had filed to run against incumbent Calvert, announced they’ll switch to run against Issa if the map is approved on Tuesday.