Zoe Lofgren led California Democrats' effort to design new congressional maps that advantage Democratic candidates. She chairs the state's Democratic congressional delegation and guided the map-drawing process this summer. The delegation, not Gov. Gavin Newsom's office nor state lawmakers tasked with approving the plan, was responsible for crafting politically slanted maps. Much of the work unfolded in secrecy and responded to a Texas Republican ploy to redraw districts for a 2026 partisan boost. Lofgren brought in political data expert Paul Mitchell and coordinated with roughly 40 delegation members. The maps were drawn to add five more Democratic seats and won unanimous support from California House Democrats.
The veteran Democrat, who represents part of San Jose and a swath of central California, chairs the state's Democratic congressional delegation. That group not Newsom's office, nor state lawmakers tasked with approving the plan this week was responsible for crafting the new, politically slanted maps that voters likely will consider in November. And Lofgren was at the helm of that process this summer,
She's brilliant, said Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat who represents a neighboring district in Silicon Valley. Newsom has taken the brunt of the credit and the criticism over the redistricting plan. The governor himself wasn't involved in the map-writing process, Lofgren said. As the Democratic delegation designed political maps to benefit their own party, the veteran congresswoman huddled with lawmakers, including Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas. We never went over the maps with the governor, Lofgren told Bay Area News Group.
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