West
The 2025 election that may determine if Republicans hold House in 2026 midterms
Obama pushes Newsom’s Proposition 50 ahead of Election Day
Paul Gigot hosts a ‘Journal Editorial Report’ panel to discuss California’s upcoming special election to vote on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Prop 50, which some criticize as gerrymandering, and the upcoming Pennsylvania Supreme court justice retention vote.
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It’s Election Day in California, where a ballot initiative will make a huge impact on next year’s battle for the U.S. House majority whether it passes or fails.
California voters are deciding whether to pass a ballot proposition which would dramatically alter the state’s congressional districts, putting the left-leaning state front-and-center in the high-stakes political fight over redistricting that pits President Donald Trump and the GOP against the Democrats.
California state lawmakers this summer approved a special proposition on the November ballot to obtain voter approval to temporarily sidetrack the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democrat-dominated legislature. Early voting by mail in the contest has been underway for a month.
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The effort in California, which could create five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts, aims to counter the passage in the reliable red state of Texas of a new map that aims to create up to five right-leaning House seats. Failure to approve what’s known as Proposition 50 would be a stinging setback for Democrats.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a plan for a special election to seek voter approval for a new congressional map, on Aug. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP)
OBAMA ENDORSES NEWSOM CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING PROP 50
Two-term Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is seen as a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, is spearheading the push to pass the proposition.
“If we lose here, we are going to have total Republican control in the House, the Senate and the White House for at least two more years,” Newsom emphasized in a recent fundraising appeal to supporters. “If we win here, we can put a check on Trump for his final two years.”
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The push by Trump and Republicans for a rare mid-decade redistricting is part of a broad effort by the GOP to pad its razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.
Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House Oct. 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Missouri last month joined Texas as the second GOP-controlled state to pass congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s elections. The new map in Missouri is likely to give the GOP another right-leaning seat.
And North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature also passed a new map, which is likely to score another congressional seat for the GOP. Republican-controlled Indiana is on deck, with a special legislative session getting underway this week.
But unlike those states, California voters need to weigh in before giving redistricting power back to the legislature in Sacramento.
“Heaven help us if we lose,” Newsom said in a fundraising pitch. “This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for Democrats.”
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Proponents and opponents of Proposition 50 raised hundreds of millions of dollars in fundraising, with much of the money being dished out to pay for a deluge of ads on both sides.
One of the two main groups countering Newsom and the Democrats labeled their effort “Stop Sacramento’s Power Grab.”
Getting into the fight was former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was the last Republican governor of California.
Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opposes the move by Democrats to suspend the state’s nonpartisan redistricting panel. (Tristar Media/WireImage)
During his tenure as governor, Schwarzenegger had a starring role in the passage of constitutional amendments in California in 2008 and 2010 that took the power to draw state legislative and congressional districts away from politicians and placed it in the hands of an independent commission.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA VOTERS WEIGH IN ON PROP 50 REDISTRICTING FIGHT
“That’s what they want to do is take us backwards — this is why it is important for you to vote no on Prop 50,” Schwarzenegger said in an ad against Proposition 50. “Democracy — we’ve got to protect it, and we’ve got to go and fight for it.”
But as Election Day neared in California, the Yes forces had dramatically outraised the No forces, and public opinion polling indicated majority support for the proposition.
Even before Trump initiated his redistricting push, Ohio was under court order to redraw its maps. That could boost Republicans in a one-time battleground state that now leans right.
Republicans in GOP-dominated Florida are also mulling congressional redistricting. And Democrats in heavily blue Maryland are weighing a redistricting push, while the Democrat-controlled legislature in Virginia is already pushing redistricting.
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Other states considering altering their maps are Democrat-dominated Illinois and red states Kansas and Nebraska.
Meanwhile, Democrats could possibly pick up a seat in Republican-dominated Utah, due to a new, more competitive map, mandated by a judge.
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San Francisco, CA
What’s Worth More Than Cash in San Francisco Real Estate? Anthropic Stock
Few things are more valuable in the Bay Area than real estate. In San Francisco, the median house price is now over $2 million. Last month, at least seven houses in the city sold for $1 million over the asking price, and buyers regularly offer to pay in cash or waive contingencies to stay competitive. Yet there is one thing that remains even more valuable than a house, and possibly more valuable than money itself: stock in Anthropic or OpenAI.
Last week, 160 Noe Street, an Edwardian home in San Francisco’s desirable Duboce Triangle neighborhood, was listed for sale at $2.9 million—or the equivalent amount in Anthropic or OpenAI shares, as based on those companies’ current valuations. Rachel Swann, the listing agent, says she was inspired to set these unusual terms after meeting several Anthropic employees at an open house for a different property. “These people have a lot of paper wealth, but they don’t always have the liquidity to do things they want,” Swann says. Some of these employees were expecting to come into as much as $50 million from their Anthropic shares, and wondered if they could use that as leverage to buy a house, according to Swann. “This kept coming up over and over again.”
Swann’s listing is unconventional, but not singular. In April, an investment banker named Storm Duncan offered to exchange his Mill Valley home and an adjacent parcel of land for Anthropic shares. And in May, Vijay Chattha, who owns an agency that does PR for tech companies, listed his Healdsburg home for $2.5 million, or $2 million in Anthropic stock. “I want to sell my house, and I want to invest in Anthropic,” Chattha says. “Why not combine the two?
Chattha’s house—a three bed, three bath with a pool and a bocce court in a part of Sonoma County that abuts some of the region’s most famous wineries—also comes with coveted short-term rental status, allowing the owner to list it on platforms like Airbnb. Only a handful of properties in Healdsburg come with that status, and only about a dozen come up for sale in a given year.
Chattha is offering a $500,000 discount to Anthropic employees because he believes the value of Anthropic shares will grow faster than any other investment, and his vacation home in wine country is the best bargaining chip he has to try to access them. “If you look at Anthropic’s growth last year, it’s insane,” he says, noting the $380 billion valuation the company claimed in February. “Now they’re raising at $965 billion. That’s three X in like three months.” He added that he was open to exchanging the house for shares in Anthropic, but not OpenAI, because he prefers using Anthropic’s products.
The real estate listings come at a time when investors are salivating at the record-high valuations of Anthropic and OpenAI, and even those considered wealthy by Bay Area standards are feeling FOMO about the affluence that could come from these companies’ debuts on the stock market. (On Monday, Anthropic submitted paperwork for its initial public offering; OpenAI is also reportedly preparing to file in the coming months.) Despite the unprecedented valuations of these companies, many people believe their stock prices will only go up, and that anyone who gets a piece now could win the jackpot.
People are clamoring to buy equity in OpenAI and Anthropic on the secondary market, leading to a frenzy of transactions that may or may not be legitimate. As a result, Anthropic updated its policy around “unauthorized Anthropic stock sales” this spring, which notes that “if someone purports to sell Anthropic shares without proper board approval, that transaction is invalid.” A spokesperson for Anthropic pointed back to this policy when asked about the possibility of exchanging company shares for real estate.
Denver, CO
Defensive lineman Jordan Miller has a tough battle to make the Broncos’ final 53-man roster
As the Denver Broncos prepare for the 2026 season, they have a lot of positives going for the franchise. One of them would be their defensive line. Once a position group with a lot of questions marks, it has ascended to one of the best units in the National Football League over the past few seasons.
The departure of John Franklin-Myers in free agency may have an impact on the group’s performance for the upcoming gridiron campaign. Though the Broncos are hoping a combination of young players they have drafted over the past several seasons can offset the loss of Franklin-Myers.
One player hoping to make the squad is defensive lineman Jordan Miller. At the conclusion of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Broncos signed Southern Methodist standout and gave him one of the biggest signing bonuses from that cycle. For the past two seasons, Miller has been a practice squad player for the Broncos. After two years learning the ropes, is Miller finally ready to earn a spot on Denver’s final 53-man roster? Let’s discuss.
Age: 26 | Experience: 2 | College: SMU (via Miami) | Height: 6’3” | Weight: 307 pounds
Arm Length: 33-3/8” | Bench: 27 reps | 40-Yard Dash: 5.18 seconds
Jordan Miller’s 2026 outlook with the Broncos
Several years ago, I highlighted Miller’s strengths in our 2024 roster review series. His strength and size at the point of attack are enticing. Additionally, he boasts a tremendous wingspan on the interior which routinely gave opposing offensive linemen in his collegiate career fits.
The physical traits Miller has are certainly promising. However, entering his third year with the Broncos, he faces steep competition in order to make the final 53-man roster. That’s no fault of his own—it’s just the reality of the situation—Denver’s defensive line is stacked.
I believe the franchise will keep six defensive lineman in the rotation once again this season. Having six players in their trenches will help keep the rotation fresh and give them a shot to be at their best. Zach Allen, Sai’vion Jones, Tyler Onyedim, D.J. Jones, Malcolm Roach, and Eyioma Uwazurike appear to be the favorites set to make the squad. With that in mind, it is hard to see a viable path for Miller to make the squad.
Given the aforementioned, it seems like Miller will once again be a practice squad candidate for the Broncos. In the event that something were to happen to Jones or Roach, I could see Miller getting called up to the active roster to help handle spot duty reps on the interior of Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph’s defensive front.
Seattle, WA
VIDEO: Mayor Wilson proposes renewing, expanding Seattle Transit Measure by doubling the sales-tax percentage that funds it.
Through the end of this year, 0.15% of the sales tax you pay funds the voter-approved Seattle Transit Measure. That would double to 0.30% if the City Council and Seattle voters approve the renewal/expansion that Mayor Katie Wilson officially introduced this afternoon. She said it’ll make living in Seattle more affordable by enabling more people to “live car-free or car-light.” She acknowledged that raising the sales tax isn’t ideal but noted that it’s one of the few revenue-raising tools available under state law. Besides paying for more transit – 280,000 additional Metro bus trips a year, 100,000 more than the current measure funds – it also would pay for 22,000 free ORCA transit passes, more than double what the city provides now, said acting SDOT director Angela Brady during the announcement event at City Hall. The passes are now available to Seattle Promise scholars, low-income Seattle Preschool Program families, and Seattle Housing Authority residents. The measure’s renewal/expansion would also make those passes available to Housing Choice Voucher participants.
The mayor’s announcement says the Transit Measure isn’t just about buses: It also would “support the design and delivery of Sound Transit’s West Seattle Link Extension, Ballard Link Extension, and Graham Street Station.” The 0.30% sales tax would generate an estimated $138 million average per year for the 10 years of this measure, which is proposed to go to voters in November. Council review starts this Thursday and will be led by District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka, who chairs the council committee that oversees transportation. We’ll add the specific text of the proposal when we get it; the slide deck for Thursday’s council meeting is now available, and we’ll add some highlights from that soon.
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