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The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), a key fundraising arm of House Republican leadership, has spent $13 million to stop the California redistricting measure led by the state’s Democrat governor, Gavin Newsom, falling well short of the waves of cash in support of the measure.
That doesn’t mean Republicans have given up hope that voters may still reject Proposition 50.
Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif., is one of the many Republicans who could face steeper election odds in 2026 if voters approve the new congressional maps up for consideration.
“I appreciate CLF stepping up to help us fight back against Newsom and his progressive puppets who have made it their mission to strip voter protections from our state constitution,” Fong said when asked whether $13 million would be enough to persuade voters.
OBAMA ENDORSES NEWSOM CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING PROP 50
“Fair representation is on the ballot. We continue to do everything we can to get out the vote and stop Newsom’s power grab that will silence the voice of Californians,” he said.
Voters will consider Proposition 50 on Nov. 4.
The California Secretary of State’s reporting on campaign finance reveals that the CLF has made three transfers since Newsom approved proposition 50 on Aug 21.
CLF paid out $5 million on Sept. 5 in opposition messaging. The committee made two more donations: $5 million on Oct. 3 and another $3 million on Oct. 14 — both to the California Republican Party.
“Congressional Leadership Fund spent $13 million in California to protect our members from a corrupt, power-hungry Democrat supermajority,” CLF spokeswoman Torunn Sinclair said of those transfers. “Californians should vote NO on Prop 50 because the last thing corrupt California Democrats need is even more power.”
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA VOTERS WEIGH IN ON PROP 50 REDISTRICTING FIGHT
Despite the CLF’s support, supporters of Proposition 50 have vastly outspent its opposition. According to the California Secretary of State, Newsom’s “Yes on 50” fundraising vehicle has accumulated over $88 million on its own.
Newsom has repeatedly framed his efforts as a necessary rebuttal to similar Republican-led redistricting efforts in Texas.
If successful, Proposition 50 would temporarily amend the California constitution, circumvent state prohibitions on gerrymandering and implement a new set of constituency maps that draw a red line through several Republican-held congressional districts.
By selectively spreading their districts to areas that have historically voted for Democrats, Proposition 50 aims to dilute Republican electoral power. Because of razor-thin margins in the House of Representatives, even one or two more seats for either party could decide the balance of power in the lower chamber of Congress and, by extension, in Washington, D.C.
VOTING UNDERWAY IN 2025 ELECTION THAT MAY DETERMINE IF REPUBLICANS HOLD HOUSE IN 2026 MIDTERMS
Findings by the Public Policy Institute of California show that a majority of voters say they would vote yes on Nov 4. In research released on Wednesday, the institute’s polling shows that 56% of respondents said they would likely vote to support it compared with just 43% of voters who said they would likely vote no.
Despite the high-stakes contest and a lopsided funding picture, a strategist familiar with the thinking of California Republicans believes that some nuances at play reduce the proposition’s likelihood. They pointed out the measure itself may not be an automatic yes for many voters.
“With mail-in ballots, ‘no’ has a built-in advantage,” the source said, noting that a wide range of California’s voters use mail to participate in elections.
They explained that voters reading a description of the measure with only superficial understanding of what it does may fill out the “no” option if they’re unsure about what to put down.
The source also pointed out that California also approved a constitutional amendment in place in 2008 that prohibited gerrymandering, noting that Californians who have voted for that measure might find themselves reluctant to undo their own votes now.
That’s the case that Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., believes Republicans can make to voters in the closing days of the campaign. Like Fong, Isaa’s district could also change with the adoption of Proposition 50.
“We’ve made a strong, consistent and statewide case that Prop. 50 is an unprecedented power grab that shouldn’t pass the test of millions of voters who already chose to prevent just this kind of gerrymandering,” Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said.
“Not a day goes by in the 48th District that I don’t hear from a constituent opposed to being denied the representation they chose, and I’ll fight as long as it takes for the people’s right to choose their representatives — not the other way around.”
According to findings by Political Data Inc., 4.4 million voters have already cast a vote through mail-in voting.
Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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