By Steve Contorno

Sacramento, California (CNN) — California Democrats may have successfully muscled a new congressional map through the state legislature this week, but the redistricting fight in the Golden State is only just beginning.

With 74 days until the November vote, Gov. Gavin Newsom and his allies have a tight window to convince California voters to approve an extraordinary mid-decade redrawing of the state’s congressional boundaries – a maneuver designed to blunt President Donald Trump’s unprecedented push to maintain Republican power in Washington. The maps could net Democrats five more US House seats, offsetting what Republicans hope to gain by overhauling the congressional boundaries in Texas.

Opponents – an unlikely alliance of Republican leaders, good-government advocates and popular former GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger – will spend the coming weeks reminding Californians why they voted 15 years ago to strip lawmakers of their redistricting powers. Unlike in Texas, California’s state constitution tasks an independent redistricting commission in charge with drawing congressional lines.

The incredibly condensed timeline to persuade voters is further compressed by the state’s reliance on mail-in ballots, which will arrive in the hands of voters in just over a month. Californians should expect to see plenty of advertisements on their televisions, devices and mailboxes in the coming weeks, organizers for both sides said.

“It’s really a September campaign,” said Amy Thoma Tan, spokeswoman for Protect Voters First, an opposition group that will be financially supported by Charles Munger Jr., the son of the late-Berkshire Hathaway vice chair. “We’re off to the races immediately.”

Munger Jr., who bankrolled the successful 2010 ballot initiative to create the state’s independent redistricting commission, has vowed to use his vast wealth to defend it, Thoma Tan said. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy confirmed to CNN’s Dana Bash on Thursday that he will help raise money for another opposition group, Stop Sacramento’s Power Grab, backed by Republicans.

Munger’s group is expected to target independent voters while McCarthy will focus on getting Republicans to show up for an unexpected off-year election.

Opponents for and against the redistricting overhaul expect spending in California in the coming weeks will easily exceed nine figures and eventually become the year’s most expensive political contest – a remarkable development few could have anticipated even just a couple of months ago. The flurry of spending is illustrative of the stakes: control of the House of Representatives.

In an early sign of the expected deluge of money directed at the fall campaign, Newsom’s political operation said it had raised $6.2 million in seven days, with contributions coming from more than 200,000 donors.

Neither side could say yet what level of turnout they anticipate. Four years ago, about 58% of California voters participated in an unsuccessful effort to recall Newsom, a strong showing.

“It’s going to be an expensive ballot initiative,” said Jessica Millan Patterson, the former chairwoman of the California Republican Party and now a leader of Stop Sacramento’s Power Grab. “But, man, it’s important. If we do not protect these lines … there won’t be races in play in California in 2026.”

Newsom and Democrats have already made clear their sales pitch to voters for the constitutional amendment, known as Proposition 50, will be centered around Trump. They have argued Californians have a unique opportunity to provide a check on the second half of Trump’s presidency. If Democrats fail in California, odds improve for Republicans to maintain the House of Representative for the final two years of Trump’s second term.

Hannah Milgrom, spokeswoman for the newly formed Yes on 50, called the ballot measure “the country’s best hope to counter Trump’s Texas power grab.”

Republicans are sensitive to the overwhelmingly negative opinions of Trump in California. A May poll from the Public Policy Institute of California found that only one in three voters in the state approved of Trump’s job performance.

McCarthy has privately signaled to the White House that it would be helpful to minimize Trump’s involvement in the California political fight, according to two sources familiar with the outreach. A spokesperson for McCarthy did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Rob Stutzman, a veteran Republican strategist in California, said the goal for the opposition should be simple.

“All you need to do is make sure Donald Trump stays out of California for 10 weeks,” he said.

When asked by CNN whether she welcomed Trump’s involvement, Patterson avoided a direct reply. Pressed on whether she would prefer Trump steer clear of California, Patterson again deflected.

“It’s pretty clear that Democrats have no other argument,” she said. “We’re going to make sure that California voters are on to what California Democrats have cooked up, and we’re going to continue to push that message out.”

Newsom, meanwhile, has staked his political future on his ability to deliver a beleaguered Democratic Party a much-needed victory and a shot in the arm. The California governor’s presidential ambitions are hardly a secret, and he has lately seized the role of leading the opposition to Trump, taunting the president on social media and escalating his public attacks, often punctuated with obscenities. A decisive strike against Trump’s midterm power play would be a sizable feather in his cap as Democrats jockey for position in the lead up to 2028.

But Republicans appear just as eager to make Newsom the face of what they describe as a Democratic power grab. Fundraising pitches from the National Republican Congressional Committee have featured Newsom (as well as another polarizing California Democratic leader, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) while Republicans have accused Newsom of furthering his aspirations.

While Newsom is more liked by Californians than Trump, his approval rating – 46% overall and just 36% among independents, according to the Institute’s poll – suggests he faces a risk many voters won’t want to side with him, either.

“I am extremely skeptical voters will approve of this,” one Democratic operative who works on congressional races told CNN. “Newsom has made himself the face of this. It’s very untested waters.”

Other wild cards remain. Both sides are closely watching Schwarzenegger for hints at how vigorously the former governor will defend a hallmark of his legacy. Newsom recently spoke with the actor-turned-politician to advocate his side. A person with knowledge of their call said the conversation was amicable, but they left it “agreeing to disagree.”

Democrats, meanwhile, expect to lean on one of their most popular figures, former President Barack Obama.

Aides to the former president say he intends to remain involved in the California race, though it’s too soon to know the specifics. They pointed out that he has already raised money for the Democrats’ national redistricting efforts and made his opinion known early on Newsom’s efforts in California to quiet any good government naysayers.

Obama, a longtime proponent of independent redistricting, said this week that the steps taken by Trump and Republicans necessitate a response.

“I have tremendous respect for how Governor Newsom has approached this,” he said.

CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Sarah Ferris and Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.

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