California Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked supporters of Proposition 50, a measure that redraws the state’s congressional boundaries, to stop sending in donations. The rare request comes just about one week before the special election.
Newsom’s request
An email went out to millions of supporters on Monday that said, “You can stop donating now.”
Newsom elaborated on his message in a post to X.
“The fact that you stepped up from all 50 states to get us in this position to win the campaign is extraordinary,” Newsom said. “So please don’t send any more money to the ‘Yes on 50’ campaign.”
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It’s not every day you hear that from a politician.
“It’s a little bit of man bites dog,” Sean Clegg, a senior adviser to Newsom, told The New York Times. “A politician sending an email not asking you for money, that’s actually asking you to stop sending money. I don’t know that this has ever happened before.”
Newsom said the campaign has raised $38 million from 1.2 million contributions from all 50 states, and that’s “enough.”
“You stepped up, and you stepped in,” Newsom said. “Mad respect to all of you.”
Proposition 50 temporarily redistricts California in response to redistricting from Republican states like Texas. Newsom has led the campaign for Proposition 50, which has featured ads from former President Barack Obama, but Newsom’s team now sees no need for more funds.
“It’s not unheard of, but typically candidates for office are happy to keep raising money as long as they can,” Darry Sragow, longtime California Democratic political strategist, told Straight Arrow News.
Sragow said part of the reason for the unusual request is that this is not a candidate campaign.
“You’re not talking about raising money for an office holder or a candidate who is looking long into the future and will raise as much as he or she can and for later use,” Sragow said. “This is a one-shot deal.”
Another factor is the timing, with election day only a week out.
“You can’t initiate new advertising campaigns just a few days out in the campaign,” Sragow said. “There’s a lead time to buy radio time or TV time or print ads or mail or social media or anything else, and we’re a week out. They probably just have nothing more they need to spend money on.”
A Republican strategist called the move “braggadocious.”
“He’s worried less about the electoral outcome rather than calling his shot more than a week out,” Matt Gorman, a GOP strategist who’s worked on presidential campaigns, told The New York Times.
Opposition campaign
While Republicans have run ads against Proposition 50, including mailers featuring former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, they’ve only raised about $11 million. That’s far less than the $100 million they’d previously pledged to raise.
“It’s as full-throated a campaign for Democrats in California as if we were in the middle of a presidential election,” Jon Fleischman, a former executive director of the California Republican Party, said to Politico. “But you can go to the house next door, occupied by Republicans, and it’s crickets — other than receiving their ballot in the mail.”
One thing Sragow pointed to is the lack of engagement from President Donald Trump.
Trump, who’s typically very active on social media, has only mentioned Proposition 50 once on Truth Social this year, and that was on Sunday.
“Watch how totally dishonest the California Prop Vote is!” Trump wrote. “Millions of Ballots being ‘shipped.’”
Trump has not otherwise commented on the measure.
“He hasn’t shown up, and it seems fairly evident that he has not asked his key players to focus on this particular battle,” Sragow said.
Prop 50 election
While recent polling shows Proposition 50 is likely to pass, Sragow said that it wasn’t clear whether the move would work. “Every political professional I know made an assumption early on, and this includes me, that Proposition 50 was in no way a guaranteed success at the polls,” Sragow said.
Newsom also made it clear in his video message that just because the fundraising is done, it doesn’t mean the battle is won.
“Don’t think for a second we can run the 90-yard dash,” Newsom said. “This election is not over, so let’s do everything in our power to focus on getting out the vote.”
Californians have already sent in more than 4 million ballots, with Democrats accounting for 51% of those ballots.
“Everybody has to remember that the way elections are held in California, ballots that are mailed on or before Election Day, and that show up within seven days after Election Day get counted,” Sragow said. “So if this turns out to be fairly close, the margin on election night turns out to be fairly close, the outcome may not be clear for several days.”
Election Day is set for Tuesday, Nov. 4.
