Newsom Fires Back: California Governor Claps Back at Republican Critics Over Crime Rates

California Governor Gavin Newsom is once again in the national spotlight, this time using crime statistics to push back against Republican critics who routinely blast California as a state of chaos and lawlessness. Over the past week, Newsom’s press office has posted a series of social media comparisons between California’s homicide rates and those of Republican-led states, challenging what he says is a false narrative about his state’s crime record.

Dallas became one of the most recent targets. Newsom’s press account on X, formerly Twitter, posted FBI data comparing Los Angeles to Dallas, showing the Texas city with nearly double the murder rate. “Dallas’ murder rate is nearly 2x higher than Los Angeles’,” the post read. “Don’t expect Fox News to report that.” According to the FBI, Los Angeles recorded a murder rate of 6.95 per 100,000 residents in 2023, while Dallas stood at 13.62.

Houston also came under fire in Newsom’s posts. San Francisco reported 35 murders in 2024 compared to Houston’s 322, furthering the California governor’s argument that critics are overlooking problems in their own backyards. Other cities and states led by Republicans—Memphis, St. Louis, Tampa, Arkansas, and Louisiana—also appeared in Newsom’s crosshairs.

The social media sparring comes against the backdrop of a larger political fight over redistricting. California Democrats last week approved legislation calling for a November special election to consider a new congressional map aimed at helping Democrats secure additional House seats in 2026. Newsom signed the measure quickly, framing it as a defensive maneuver in response to Texas’ approval of a new congressional map designed to bolster Republican control.

“This is not something six weeks ago that I ever imagined that I’d be doing,” Newsom said. “This is a reaction to an assault on our democracy in Texas.” Texas Governor Greg Abbott dismissed California’s move as “a joke,” claiming the Golden State’s proposed map would be overturned in court, while defending Texas’ redistricting as constitutional.

Still, Newsom’s most effective political weapon may be data. In recent weeks, he has fired back at individual Republican lawmakers with sharp comparisons. When Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville declared Los Angeles a “third-world country” plagued by anarchy, Newsom pointed to Alabama’s murder rate, which the CDC ranks as the third highest in the nation, nearly three times higher than California’s.

When Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin attacked California over immigration and “lawless liberal leadership,” Newsom responded by noting Oklahoma’s homicide rate was 40 percent higher than California’s. And when Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders insisted her state valued “order over chaos,” Newsom replied that Arkansas’ murder rate was double California’s.

Independent data generally supports Newsom’s claims. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, California ranked 30th in the nation in homicide rate in 2022, with 5.9 per 100,000 people. Alabama, by contrast, ranked third with 14.9 per 100,000, Arkansas ranked sixth at 11.8, and Oklahoma placed 20th at 8.3. FBI data from 2023 shows similar patterns, with California ranking lower than all three Republican-led states in homicide rate.

Criminologists note that Newsom’s framing is technically accurate, though he occasionally mixes the terms “homicide” and “murder,” which differ depending on the dataset. “The CDC data are very reliable when it comes to death and mortality because these come directly from coroners’ records and state health departments,” said Alex R. Piquero, a criminologist at the University of Miami and former director of the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics. “They are among the most respected of all health data collections.”

But while California fares better than its rivals on homicide rates, the broader picture is more complicated. The FBI’s 2023 violent crime data—which includes rape, aggravated assault, and robbery in addition to homicide—shows California ranking sixth nationwide, higher than both Alabama and Oklahoma. Arkansas ranked fourth in violent crime.

That mixed picture underscores the complexity of crime statistics in political debate. California, as the nation’s most populous state, records more total homicides than any other state simply by size, but its rate per 100,000 residents is significantly lower than many smaller Republican-led states. Newsom has seized on that nuance to flip the script on critics who paint California as a place of lawlessness.

Whether this strategy pays off politically remains to be seen. With the 2026 midterms already looming in the background and Democrats fighting to claw back seats in the House, Newsom appears eager to defend California’s record and simultaneously keep Republican governors and lawmakers on the defensive.

As both crime and redistricting become part of the national political conversation, one thing is clear: Gavin Newsom has no intention of letting California be used as a punching bag without punching back.