U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla’s surprise Election Day announcement that he is not running for governor is just one piece of the larger political chessboard being shuffled in California ahead of the 2026 midterms now that the Proposition 50 campaign is over.

The new maps approved by voters under the ballot measure will upend a number of congressional races as incumbents and candidates on both sides of the aisle decide where to run under the new maps, shrinking California’s field of battleground seats down to just a few districts.

The end of the Proposition 50 campaign, which has consumed the Democratic establishment in California for the past two months, also clears the way for the 2026 governor’s race to begin in earnest. And the measure’s resounding victory gives its top proponent, Gov.

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