Hundreds of thousands of {dollars} started flowing into campaigns supporting and opposing an effort to redraw California’s congressional districts on the November poll, notably $10 million from unbiased redistricting champion Charles Munger Jr.
The checks, reported Friday in state marketing campaign finance disclosures, had been made on Thursday, the day the state Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom referred to as a particular election to interchange the congressional districts drawn by an unbiased fee in 2021 with new districts that might increase the variety of Democrats elected to Congress in subsequent yr’s midterm election.
The transfer is an effort by California Democrats to counter Texas Republicans’ and President Trump’s efforts to spice up the variety of GOP members.
Munger, a GOP donor and the son of a billionaire who was Warren Buffett’s right-hand man, bankrolled the 2010 poll measure that created unbiased congressional redistricting in California. He donated $10 million to the “No on Prop. 50 – Shield Voters First” marketing campaign,” which opposes the proposed redistricting.
“Charles Munger Jr. is making good on his promise to defend the reforms he handed,” mentioned Amy Thoma, a spokesperson for the Voters First Coalition, which opposes the poll measure and contains Munger.
A spokesperson for the marketing campaign supporting the redrawing of congressional boundaries accused Munger of making an attempt to spice up the GOP beneath the guise of supporting unbiased redistricting.
“It’s no shock {that a} billionaire who has given extensively to assist Republicans take the home and [former Republican House Speaker] Kevin McCarthy can be becoming a member of forces to assist Donald Trump steal 5 Home seats and rig the 2026 midterm earlier than a single American has voted,” mentioned Hannah Milgrom, spokesperson for “Sure on 50: the Election Rigging Response Act.” “Prop 50 is America’s finest probability to combat again – vote sure on November. 4.”
The marketing campaign backing the poll measure obtained $1 million on Thursday from a robust labor group, SEIU’s state council; $300,000 from businessman Andrew Hauptman; and a flurry of different donations, in keeping with the California secretary of state’s workplace. That’s on high of the $5.8 million the marketing campaign reported having within the financial institution as of July 30, together with tens of millions of {dollars} in contributions from Home Majority PAC, which is targeted on electing Democrats to Congress, and Newsom’s 2022 gubernatorial reelection marketing campaign.
Redistricting sometimes occurs as soon as a decade after the U.S. census. Trump requested Texas lawmakers to redraw their congressional districts earlier this yr, arguing that the GOP was entitled to 5 extra members from the state. In response, California Democrats have pitched new district boundaries that might lead to 5 extra Democrats being elected to Congress.
