Billionaire megadonor George Soros has reportedly shelled out $10 million to bolster Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting push.
Newsom has notched a fundraising haul of about $70 million in under two months for Proposition 50, the November ballot measure to redraw the Golden State’s House map to flip up to five seats from Republican to Democratic, The New York Times first reported on Friday. The $10 million donation from Soros marks the single largest for Proposition 50 to date, according to the NYT.
A spokesman for Soros said in a statement provided to the NYT that “this ballot measure temporarily changes the way lines are drawn in California, giving voters the opportunity to level the national playing field.”
Soros — alongside his network of political spending outfits — has dished out hundreds of millions in support of Democratic causes in recent years. President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of Soros, writing in a late August postto Truth Social that Soros has “caused great damage” to the U.S.
“Soros, and his group of psychopaths, have caused great damage to our Country!” the president wrote in the social media post. “That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends. Be careful, we’re watching you! Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
If California voters approve Proposition 50, the proposed map which the Democratic-dominated state legislature unveiled in August, would replace the state’s current map drawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. The proposed map, widely referred to as a partisan Democratic gerrymander, targets five incumbent Republicans: California Reps. Doug LaMalfa, Kevin Kiley, David Valadao, Ken Calvert and Darrell Issa.
Some voters in California previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation that they did not want to be involved with Newsom’s efforts to redistrict in the state.
“Hell no. I’m against it,” one man told the DCNF in August when asked about the proposed California congressional map.
Still, an Emerson College Polling survey released Friday found that 51% of California voters intend to vote in favor of Proposition 50 in November, while 34% said they plan to vote against the measure and 15% responded that they were undecided. Additionally, the Texas Senate approved newly-redrawn congressional maps in August which will create as many as five new Republican-favoring House seats.
Newsom’s office and a spokesperson for Soros’ Open Society Foundations did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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