Millions Pour Into California Fight Over Newsom’s Redistricting Ballot Measure

The campaigns for and against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s controversial redistricting ballot measure are raising millions to flood California’s airwaves ahead of the state’s Nov. 4 special election.

Through Sept. 20, Newsom’s campaign supporting Proposition 50 has raised $77 million, outpacing the $35 million raised by two campaign committees opposing the measure, according to reports filed with the Secretary of State’s office on Thursday.

Proposition 50 would redraw the state’s congressional map to favor Democrats for the next three election cycles, replacing the current lines drawn by an independent commission. Newsom pushed the measure to combat Republican-led gerrymandering in states such as Texas, which redrew its lines with encouragement from President Donald Trump.

So far, the proposition has garnered national attention — and national money.

The largest single donation supporting the map redraw came Sept. 18 in the form of a $10 million check from the Fund for Policy Reform, the political organization of New York hedge fund billionaire and longtime liberal donor George Soros.

On the opposing side, GOP philanthropist Charles Munger Jr. has poured in more than $30 million to defeat the measure.

Unlike campaigns for individual candidates, groups supporting and opposing ballot measures can raise and spend unlimited sums of money. Ballot measure battles consistently drive up political ad spending in California — as does the cost of running ads in expensive markets such as Los Angeles.

Through Sept. 18, both sides had spent $24.2 million on TV ads, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact. The firm projects a total of $1.1 billion in political ad spending in California during the 2025–2026 election cycle, by far the most of any state.

“The state has recently featured at least one high-cost ballot proposition each cycle,” a recent AdImpact report noted. “In 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom’s redistricting proposal appears poised to take that spot.”

Newsom’s pro-Proposition 50 group received individual contributions from every state, suggesting nationwide grassroots interest in the measure.

But powerful political groups have also lined up behind Newsom’s effort. The House Majority PAC, the super PAC supporting Democratic candidates for Congress, donated $7.6 million. The California Teachers Association pitched in $3 million and the state’s nurses union added $2.5 million.

Those contributions have funded an ad campaign focused squarely on Trump, who remains unpopular in California. Newsom has argued that the map redraw is necessary to prevent Republicans from maintaining unified control in Washington after the 2026 elections.

Recent pro-Proposition 50 ads have featured leading Democrats such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Alex Padilla touting the measure as a key tool for fighting back against Trump.

Meanwhile, Republicans are running a bifurcated opposition campaign.

Munger’s large donations allowed his anti-Prop. 50 group to hit the airwaves first, with ads highlighting voter support for independent redistricting. Munger’s political committee reported spending $26.7 million of the roughly $30 million he donated — leaving about $3.5 million on hand. Munger was the leading proponent of two ballot measures California voters passed in 2008 and 2010 to hand line-drawing to a citizens commission.

While Munger’s group focuses on good-government messaging, a separate political group has taken a more partisan stance. The committee, organized by Jessica Milan Patterson, the former chair of the California Republican Party, has labeled Proposition 50 “Gavin Newsom’s Power Grab” and plans to attack Democrats for their past opposition to independent redistricting, according to Politico.

But the committee has reported just $5.2 million in donations — despite former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Patterson ally, aiming to raise $100 million.

A wild card in the ad war is Arnold Schwarzenegger, who partnered with Munger on the measure to create the independent redistricting commission in 2008.

The former governor was front and center in an ad released by the Munger committee Tuesday, encouraging voters to oppose Proposition 50. Munger spokesperson Amy Thoma Tan said the campaign is spending about $1 million a day to place the spot on broadcast, cable and online.

But Schwarzenegger wasn’t an active collaborator on the commercial. His comments were pulled from remarks he delivered at his policy institute at a University of Southern California forum last week. At the university’s request, the USC logo was scrubbed from the backdrop — replaced by AI-generated “No on 50” logos.

Republican strategist Dave Gilliard said Schwarzenegger has unique appeal for California’s independent voters. But it remains to be seen whether the former governor will have further involvement in the campaign.

“I’ve been very surprised that he has not been more out there campaigning on this,” Gilliard said. “He’s a good spokesman for the group of voters that aren’t aligned heavily as a partisan Democrat or a partisan Republican — he’s good with them and he’s still got some strong numbers with those particular voters.”