Trump’s Putin gambit: President Donald Trump will head to Alaska today for a very high-profile meeting on Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. The White House hasn’t formally announced the U.S. delegation yet, although Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend. Putin will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov, plus top Russian defense and economic officials.
Trump has tried to downplay this event over the last few days, saying a more important meeting would be between him, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. That hasn’t been scheduled yet, and may not happen depending on today’s outcome.
Trump is set to return to Washington by early Saturday morning, according to the White House.
News: Trump has invited all Republican state legislators from Indiana to the White House Aug. 26, according to sources familiar with the plans. The Trump administration has been trying to convince Hoosier State Republicans to redraw their congressional map to add an additional Republican seat.
Vice President JD Vance met with Indiana statehouse leaders and GOP Gov. Mike Braun last week on the issue. But Indiana lawmakers have been reluctant to bow to the Trump administration on their map so far.
The Golden State. It’s go time for California Democrats.
Gov. Gavin Newsom formally launched his campaign to convince California voters to back a ballot measure that pauses their state’s independent redistricting commission and lets the Democratic-dominated legislature gerrymander a number of new Democratic congressional seats. Newsom plans to call a special election on this issue for Nov. 4.
Dubbed the “Election Rigging Response Act,” it is Newsom’s counter to efforts by Trump and Republicans nationwide to add more GOP seats in order to save their endangered House majority.
Democratic leaders in the California legislature are expected to release their proposed map today. As we’ve reported, they are eyeing a pickup of three to five seats. Some of those new districts will be easier to flip than others.
California has a fast-approaching deadline to call a November special election. They will have to move quickly once state lawmakers return from summer recess on Aug. 18.
And remember, there’s no guarantee of success for Democrats here. California’s redistricting commission is popular. Newsom and other state Democrats will have to make the case that voters should do away with it until the end of the decade. A ton of money will be spent on this campaign by both sides.
House Majority PAC, Democrats’ top congressional outside group, is listed on Newsom’s website’s disclaimer, a sign the organization will be involved in the effort.
Although the map comes out later today, we got the details for you this morning. Here’s what it’s likely to look like, per our conversations with multiple Democrats close to the process.
The GOP targets. The two biggest Republican losers in the proposed map are Rep. Ken Calvert in the Inland Empire and Rep. Doug LaMalfa in the northeast corner of the state. Their seats will be transformed into very safe Democratic turf.
Calvert’s district has been a target for Democrats over the past couple of election cycles. Under the new Democratic map, the district’s current configuration has disappeared, according to sources close to the process. Democrats have added a district in southern Los Angeles similar to the one former Democratic Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard once held. This seat would be an easy pickup for Democrats.
Reelection will also become much more difficult for two-term GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley, who currently represents a seat that spans from the Sacramento suburbs down the Nevada border.
Kiley’s proposed new district will include more liberal voters in the Sacramento area, but won’t be quite as blue as LaMalfa’s or Calvert’s new seats, per sources. A possible Democratic candidate to watch: Kermit Jones, a veteran and physician who ran in 2022.
So Democrats expect to win these three seats — should voters approve the new map — with little trouble or expense.
The two other pickup opportunities for Democrats are GOP Reps. Darrell Issa in inland San Diego and David Valadao in the Central Valley.
Valadao’s seat is a frequent election-year battleground. It gets significantly better for Democrats under the new lines but remains competitive. Trump would have narrowly carried it, according to sources familiar with the proposal.
Issa’s district, currently deep red, will now be competitive. It’s not a slam dunk for Democrats, but former Vice President Kamala Harris would have carried it in November. It’s worth noting that Issa is wealthy and can self fund.
Shrinking Frontline. Incumbent protection is just as important as offense for House Democrats in their quest for the majority.
Several Democrats in the delegation will see their battleground districts become much safer under the new map. That includes Reps. George Whitesides in the Los Angeles area, Dave Min in Orange County, Mike Levin in San Diego and Orange counties and Josh Harder in the northern Central Valley.
The districts of Reps. Adam Gray in the Central Valley and Derek Tran in Orange County remain competitive. But both could be well-positioned in a favorable Democratic environment.
