Within the newest signal that Silicon Valley titans are more and more throwing their weight behind political points, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has contributed $2 million to help Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Proposition 50 marketing campaign.
The transfer is the most recent underscoring how Silicon Valley’s deep-pocketed executives are more and more wielding affect in California politics and past.
The November poll measure would scrap California’s unbiased redistricting fee, returning map-drawing authority to the state legislature, the place Democrats maintain agency majorities.
Backers argue the change would counterbalance GOP-led gerrymanders in states like Texas and Florida, doubtlessly netting Democrats half a dozen U.S. Home seats in 2026.
Hastings’ donation highlights the rising position of tech fortunes in political fights. The Netflix co-founder has lengthy been a high-profile donor, beforehand giving $3 million to Newsom’s 2021 recall protection. He has additionally funded statewide training reform initiatives and donated closely to nationwide Democratic causes.
Different Silicon Valley figures are becoming a member of him
Ron Conway, one of many Valley’s most prolific angel buyers, has pledged help, and Y Combinator’s Paul Graham gave $500,000. Their involvement echoes a broader pattern: Tech executives are more and more channeling private wealth into shaping coverage outcomes, typically by poll measures the place their {dollars} can have an outsized affect.
California has been a testing floor for such efforts.
In 2020, Uber, Lyft and DoorDash collectively spent greater than $200 million to move Proposition 22, rolling again state labor guidelines that threatened their enterprise fashions. Extra just lately, enterprise capital and crypto executives have funded campaigns to withstand new taxes and rules.
Tech cash is more and more flowing into politics
The sample isn’t restricted to California. On the nationwide stage, know-how cash has turn out to be a serious drive in politics.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former crypto billionaire, spent greater than $40 million on congressional races in 2022 earlier than his collapse. Some estimates put his whole political contributions at greater than $70 million throughout 18 months, reflecting his ambition to exert affect on the federal stage
Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet stay amongst the highest company spenders on lobbying in Washington. These interventions have helped form debates starting from antitrust reform to AI regulation.
In response to Axios, within the first quarter of 2025, Meta spent $8 million lobbying, adopted by Amazon at $4.3 million, with Microsoft at $2.4 million. OpenSecrets experiences Amazon’s whole federal lobbying for 2025 (first half) at $9.35 million, and Alphabet (Google’s mum or dad) at round $7.81 million
For critics, Proposition 50 represents one other occasion of rich tech donors tilting the political enjoying subject.
Opponents, together with GOP donor Charles Munger Jr., who has already dedicated $10 million to defeat it, say dismantling the unbiased redistricting system voters authorised in 2008 is a unadorned energy seize. Former Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy has additionally jumped into the fray, casting the measure as an effort by Democrats and their Silicon Valley allies to “rig the map.”
Are Silicon Valley tycoons the kingmakers but?
What makes the battle particularly important is its nationwide affect.
California, with 52 Home seats, stays the largest single prize in congressional redistricting. Even a small shift in district traces might decide management of the Home in 2026. For Democrats, aligning with rich tech donors provides a technique to maintain tempo with Republican fundraising networks which have lengthy used redistricting to their benefit.
Whether or not Hastings and his friends can sway voters stays unsure. Early polls present Californians cut up on Proposition 50, reflecting skepticism about giving lawmakers extra management. However the torrent of Silicon Valley cash ensures that by November, voters shall be listening to arguments on either side at near-constant quantity.
If profitable, the marketing campaign would additional cement Silicon Valley not solely as an financial powerhouse but additionally as a decisive political participant, with ambitions that stretch far past California’s borders.
