The state Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom called a special election to replace the congressional districts drawn by an independent commission in 2021 with new districts intended to increase Democratic representation. Voters will cast ballots on new congressional districts in November. Millions of dollars flowed into campaigns supporting and opposing the redistricting, with campaign finance disclosures showing checks made the same day the special election was called. Charles Munger Jr., a GOP donor who previously bankrolled California’s independent redistricting measure in 2010, donated $10 million to the campaign opposing the proposed redrawing. Supporters and opponents exchanged accusations about partisan motives and influence.
Millions of dollars began flowing into campaigns supporting and opposing an effort to redraw California's congressional districts on the November ballot, notably $10 million from independent redistricting champion Charles Munger Jr. The checks, reported Friday in state campaign finance disclosures, were made on Thursday, the day the state Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom called a special election to replace the congressional districts drawn by an independent commission in 2021 with new districts that would boost the number of Democrats elected to Congress in next year's midterm election.
Munger, a GOP donor and the son of a billionaire who was Warren Buffett's right-hand man, bankrolled the 2010 ballot measure that created independent congressional redistricting in California. He donated $10 million to the "No on Prop. 50 - Protect Voters First" campaign, which opposes the proposed redistricting. "Charles Munger Jr. is making good on his promise to defend the reforms he passed," said Amy Thoma, a spokesperson for the Voters First Coalition, which opposes the ballot measure and includes Munger.
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