By Steve Gorman

(Reuters) -The California Senate on Thursday was set to act on newly drawn political maps aimed at giving Democrats five more seats in Congress, countering a partisan advantage President Donald Trump hopes to gain from a Republican redistricting plan in Texas.

California Democrats, led by Governor Gavin Newsom, are pushing to achieve fast-track passage of their redistricting effort in the Sacramento statehouse by Friday, just in time to place it on the ballot for a special election on November 4.

Newsom, who enjoys a Democratic super-majority in both houses of the state legislature, ultimately seeks voter support of his plan – neutralizing a Trump-backed Texas bill designed to flip five Democratic seats to Republican control in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The new

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