Former President Barack Obama waded into the debate over redistricting in a zoom call with Texas House Democrats on Thursday, warning of a “systematic assault on democracy” spurred by Republican efforts to redraw congressional maps in Texas.

As Texas hurtles toward a flashpoint on a GOP effort to redraw congressional districts, California Democrats are about to answer with a plan of their own.

California Governor Gavin Newsom led a campaign-style rally on Thursday for a redistricting plan to foil what he called President Donald Trump's bid to rig the next congressional race and cement his Republican House majority by redrawing the political map of Texas.