Netflix co-founder gave $2 million to Newsom to take on Trump Republicans in redistricting
Netflix co-founder and longtime Democratic donor Reed Hastings has poured $2 million into California’s redistricting battle, underscoring just how high the stakes are in the fight over the state’s congressional maps.
Hastings, a close ally of Gov. Gavin Newsom and a reliable backer of Democratic causes, is no stranger to investing heavily in California politics. In 2021, he contributed $3 million to help Newsom fend off a Republican-led recall. Now, he is once again stepping up, this time to support the effort to counter Texas’ GOP gerrymander with new maps that could shift multiple California House seats into Democratic hands.
On Nov. 4, voters will decide in a statewide special election whether to approve Proposition 50, which would implement the new maps. The lines were drafted with input from national Democrats, who see the measure as a potential path to flipping as many as six seats in next year’s midterms—part of a broader push to offset Republican advantages in Texas.
The campaign has already become one of the most expensive in the country, drawing massive funding from both sides. Labor unions, wealthy Democratic donors, and House Democrats’ main super PAC have all poured in millions. At the same time, Charles Munger Jr., a billionaire and longtime champion of independent redistricting, has invested more than $10 million to defeat the proposal.
Backers of Proposition 50 are leaning heavily on deep-pocketed Democratic allies. Silicon Valley investor Ron Conway, a confidant of both Newsom and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is actively involved.
“When Texas moves to change the rules to rig the midterm elections and keep one political party in power forever, California must step up and fight fire with fire,” Hastings said in a statement to POLITICO. “Whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent, when the future of our democracy is at stake, none of us can afford to sit on the sidelines.”
Other tech leaders have also joined the effort. Y Combinator founder Paul Graham contributed $500,000 after being approached by Conway. “Like most people in the venture business, I’m a moderate politically, so it worries me when one party tries to tip the scales in their favor,” Graham explained.
California ballot fights are notoriously costly, with no cap on donations and the challenge of reaching voters across one of the most expensive media markets in the nation. Still, the scope of this battle could dwarf prior campaigns, given its potential impact on national politics.
Newsom, along with leading Democrats such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former President Barack Obama, has framed the ballot measure as critical to resisting President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda. They argue the new maps are necessary to check his political power as he intensifies immigration crackdowns and pushes policies unpopular with California’s Democratic majority.
Republicans, meanwhile, are rallying just as aggressively. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has taken the lead in organizing opposition, vowing to raise at least $100 million to stop Proposition 50 and preserve the GOP’s foothold in California.
