Gavin Newsom Taunts JD Vance As Clash Over Texas Gerrymandering Escalates: 'Try Again, Dumb Dumb'

California Gov. Gavin Newsom taunted Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday as the feud over Texas Republicans' redistricting initiative escalates further.

After the Texas GOP presented its first draft of its intended congressional map, which would eliminate five Democratic seats, Vance took to social media to claim that "the gerrymander in California is outrageous."

"f their 52 congressional districts, 9 of them are Republican. That means 17 percent of their delegation is Republican when Republicans regularly win 40 percent of the vote in that state. How can this possibly be allowed?" Vance added.

Newsom, who has taken a leading role in Democrats' pushback against the measure, responded by posting a map claiming that the most gerrymandered states are controlled by Republicans. Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky and Ohio, where Vance is from, are featured in the map. "Try again, dumb dumb," Newsom said.

Earlier on Wednesday Newsom said his administration will retaliate if Texas moves forward with the measure.

"Donald Trump asks for 5 seats and Greg Abbott automatically bends the knee. The 2026 election is being rigged. California won't sit back and watch this happen," Newsom said in a social media post. Comments of the kind have also been made by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, as well as lawmakers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elisa Slotkin.

Texas Republicans' first draft of the state's congressional targets members in Austin, Dallas and Houston metro areas and in South Texas, The Texas Tribune noted.

State Democrats are reportedly fundraising to face potential fines if they leave the state to block the initiative. The outlet detailed on Tuesday that, should lawmakers leave the state to prevent the Legislature from having a quorum to function, there would be donors willing to bankroll the effort.

The outlet noted that lawmakers would face a daily $500 fine, as well as the threat of arrest. They would also need to overcome the fact that Texas House rules forbid them from using campaign coffers to pay fines, but people involved in the strategy said there is already a strategy in place. About $1 million a month would be needed to finance the move.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, on his end, called for the arrest of Democrats leaving the state and offered his office to help "hunting down and compelling the attendance of anyone who abandons their office."

Democrats are using other tools at their disposal to fight against the move. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has begun deploying tens of thousands of advocates to fight against redistricting efforts.