California’s high-stakes redistricting fight raises $215 million
The article discusses California’s contentious and costly battle over redrawing the state’s congressional district map through Proposition 50, a ballot measure aiming to create five districts favorable to Democrats. This redistricting effort has become one of the most expensive ballot fights in California history, with over $215 million raised by supporters and opponents combined, and fundraising expected to continue increasing as the November 2025 election approaches.
Proposition 50 was introduced by Governor Gavin Newsom and the Democratic state legislature as a response to Texas Republicans’ own redistricting moves intended to benefit their party. The outcome of this election could influence control of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Republicans currently hold a slim majority.
Newsom frames the proposition as critical to preserving democracy, while Republicans criticize it as a self-serving political strategy that boosts Newsom’s national profile ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run. The campaign supporting Proposition 50 is heavily funded by Democrats, including large donations from political action committees, prominent donors like George Soros’s fund, and unions. In contrast,opposition funding primarily comes from Republican groups and wealthy donors,including super PACs and notable GOP figures.
Critics argue that this extensive spending diverts attention and resources away from urgent state issues like public safety, homelessness, and immigration. The fight encapsulates broader national political tensions and reflects the high stakes both parties place on control of Congress and political influence in California.
California’s high-stakes redistricting fight raises $215 million
The fight over changing California’s congressional district map to create five Democratic-favored seats is one of the most expensive ballot measures in state history, with campaigns to support and oppose the measure already raising more than $215 million.
With less than a month left to go in the high-stakes fight, that figure is expected to rise even more. Last month, more than $100 million was raised. Altogether, Proposition 50 is the third-most expensive of any proposition in the past decade.
“Ballot initiatives have always taken up much of the campaign finance attention,” Jeff Le, a former deputy Cabinet secretary to former Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown, told the Washington Examiner. “But a special off-year election positioned by both parties as an existential political pitch battle fundraising millions of dollars only deepens that sentiment. Both national Democrats and California Republicans are motivated to play some role in checking power in D.C. and Sacramento. The November result will potentially tilt that scale.”
Proposition 50 is a ballot measure that would approve a new congressional map passed by the state legislature. The push for redrawn districts is a direct response to Texas redrawing its map in favor of Republicans at the request of President Donald Trump, who is seeking to hold on to power during next year’s midterm elections. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Democrats in the state legislature put Proposition 50 on California’s Nov. 4 ballot.
At stake is control of the House of Representatives. Republicans have a 219-213 edge in the House, with three vacancies. Trump has been able to enact his agenda because the GOP controls the White House and both chambers of Congress. If Democrats flip the House, they could stifle Trump during his last two years in office by blocking his legislation and launching congressional investigations.
Newsom has framed the fight as one to save the soul of democracy. Republicans have described it as a self-serving effort for Newsom to boost himself on the national stage. The outgoing governor is considered one of the Democratic front-runners for the 2028 presidential nomination.
“The governor is calling every favor that he has from wealthy special interests that have underwritten his political career, and what’s especially bad is that they can get unlimited amounts of money,” Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), one of the five GOP lawmakers at risk of having their district redrawn, told the Washington Examiner. “Newsom knew that, and he’s essentially using this as a launching pad for his own presidential campaign.”
The main backers of Proposition 50 have been Democrats and their allies.
Newsom transferred $2.6 million from his 2022 gubernatorial campaign to the cause. Of the $138 million raised in favor of Proposition 50, about $49 million has come from donors who gave less than $100. There have also been some familiar big-money donors, including George Soros’s Fund for Policy Reform, which gave $10 million. Another $10 million came from House Majority PAC, a super PAC focused on electing Democrats to Congress. Liberal grassroots organization MoveOn.org has given $6.9 million, while the National Education Association and the California Teachers Association both gave $3 million.
Billionaire Mimi Haas, the mother of San Francisco Democratic Mayor Daniel Lurie, donated $750,000, though her son has said he would support the measure as a voter and not make comments about it on the political stage.
Haas’s late husband was Peter Haas, a great-grandnephew of Levi Strauss. Though she has spent decades in San Francisco philanthropic circles, her Proposition 50 donation marks one of her more significant political contributions in recent years. She gave her son’s campaign $1 million.
The campaign against Proposition 50 has relied on two major donors for more than 90% of the $77 million raised so far. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC controlled by Republicans in Congress, has donated $42 million, while GOP megadonor Charles Munger Jr. has given $33 million. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy transferred $1 million from his campaign account, while Thomas Siebel, a Bay Area billionaire businessman who is related to Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, also gave $1 million.
FIVE CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS TARGETED BY NEWSOM REDISTRICTING PLAN
Edward Escobar, the founder of the Coalition for Community Engagement & Citizen Unite movement in California, told the Washington Examiner he was not surprised Proposition 50 has drawn over $215 million.
“This isn’t about good governance, it’s about Gavin Newsom staging a national audition,” he said. “While California reels from a crime wave, homelessness crisis, and decades of mismanaged immigration policy, Newsom is pouring hundreds of millions into a PR campaign to rewrite congressional maps and polish his image. Compare that to the mere $100 million his office allocated to public safety — after voters overwhelmingly backed Prop 36. It’s a drop in the bucket. Californians deserve leadership focused on fixing what’s broken, not chasing the White House.”
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