Looks like Republicans have folded their tent in their effort to defeat a Democratic gerrymander of California’s House districts one week before the special election. Good news for Democrats, and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who’s been leading the fight for California redistricting. Via Politico:
As Democrats pummel the state with Yes on 50 advertising, the Republican side of the battle has gone quiet. Major GOP donors and party leaders have effectively vanished from the front lines.
The biggest funder of the campaign to defeat Proposition 50, Charles Munger Jr., has not contributed any significant cash to the cause in weeks, and his Protect Voters First committee cut its weekly spending from more than $4 million to less than $300. The other opposition committee, Stop Sacramento’s Power Grab, spent $155,000 on advertising last week, compared to $3.8 million from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Yes on 50 campaign.
“It’s as full-throated a campaign for Democrats in California as if we were in the middle of a presidential election,” said Jon Fleischman, a former executive director of the California Republican Party. “But you can go to the house next door, occupied by Republicans, and it’s crickets — other than receiving their ballot in the mail.”