The San Francisco Chronicle reports that donors to the recall of Newsom are predominantly wealthy and Republicans.
Organizers of the recall of California Gov. Gavin Newsom say it is being driven by grassroots supporters angry about the Epidemic prevention law and Newsom’s violation of his own rules for attending indoor dinners. However, the recall was funded by few populists and mostly by mega-donors who could write six-figure checks.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the recall has been a hot topic in California and across the country for the past three months as it has been hyped by Fox News and other conservative media outlets, with large donations pouring in.
The recall has raised nearly $4 million so far, with more than half coming from more than 20 contributors, including wealthy, well-off businesses and multiple Republican groups. After receiving an infusion of money from the National Republican Committee, the California Republican Party gave $185,000, the Lincoln Club, a prominent Orange County Republican group, gave $109,000, and former Arkansas Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee ‘s Huck Political Action Committee (Huck PAC) also donated $100,000.
Dan Newman, a consultant to Newsom’s 2022 re-election campaign, said the contributions show that after losing the White House, the Republican Party seized the opportunity of this recall action to make a big deal. Newman said, “This is a move by the national far-right Republican Party, a backdoor ploy to force California to produce a pro-Trump governor.”
However, recall action manager Anne Dunsmore said their action also received many small donations, many of which were not recorded because the number of donations was less than $100.
In addition to Republican groups, wealthy Californians and technology entrepreneurs have also made large donations, each between $90,000 and $100,000, for a total of more than $500,000. One of them is Chamath Palihapitiya, a former Facebook executive and founder of Social Capital, who personally donated $100,000 and once announced his intention to run for governor.
In fact, the source of the largest donation to the recall campaign is unknown. The largest contribution of $500,000 came from a little-known Irvine company, Prov.3:9 LLC, whose actual donor was revealed last month to be a man named John Kruger. Another $150,000 came from DGB Ranch, an unregistered company with no corporate website.
The financial report data shows that 92 percent of the contributions to the recall action came from within California, with the Bay Area, Orange County and Los Angeles leading the way, with contributions from San Francisco coming in second at $228,525, Irvine in first at $613,550 and Los Angeles in third at $215,307. The City of Monroe Park in the Bay Area donated $105,200, ranking sixth, Walnut Creek $101,225, ranking seventh, and Los Alto $101,200, ranking eighth.
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