Over $100 million spent on ads for California's redistricting measure
More than $100 million has been poured into campaigns supporting and opposing California's Proposition 50, a November ballot measure aimed at redrawing congressional districts to benefit Democrats. The effort responds to Republican gerrymandering in other states amid national political tensions. Governor Gavin Newsom leads the pro-Proposition 50 push, while opponents defend the state's independent redistricting commission.
California's Proposition 50 seeks voter approval to temporarily set aside a congressional map drawn by an independent citizens' commission, established through a 2008 ballot measure. Proponents frame it as a counter to Republican-led gerrymandering in states like Texas, influenced by demands from President Trump. The Yes on 50 campaign, spearheaded by Governor Gavin Newsom, has raised over $90 million, including contributions from the Nurses Association, SEIU, labor groups, high-profile Democratic donors, a pro-Democrat congressional group, and an organization led by George Soros. It has also garnered millions in small-dollar donations from residents across all 50 states.
Newsom's ads avoid mentioning redistricting directly, instead targeting Trump. In one, he urges, "Wake up to what Donald Trump is doing," and criticizes crackdowns on free speech and failure to lower costs, adding, "On November 4, you have the power to stand up to Trump."
Opponents, funded primarily by Republican donor Charles Munger Jr.—who backed the 2008 commission creation—have raised less than half the Yes campaign's total. Their ads highlight the commission's work: an unidentified narrator states it "spent thousands of hours meeting with California citizens to create fair election districts," warning that "Prop 50 destroys this good work." National House Republicans and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy have also donated to the No side.
Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican who championed independent redistricting, opposes the measure. At a University of Southern California event last month, he said, "This is why it is important for you to vote no on Proposition 50," and emphasized, "Democracy. We got to protect it, and we got to go and fight for it." The No campaign filmed the speech for an ad. Marva Diaz, publisher of the nonpartisan California Target Book, noted Schwarzenegger's message that "two wrongs don't make a right" could sway swing voters, though he has resisted deeper involvement, possibly to avoid Trump associations.
With voting underway, ads featuring Newsom and Schwarzenegger will dominate California airwaves.