With less than three weeks until Election Day, outside groups are pouring millions of dollars into two types of state legislative races: purple districts featuring a Democrat and a Republican, and safely Democratic districts featuring Democrats of different ideological stripes.

Political action committees backed by politically powerful groups such as unions and business have spent over $100 million on California legislative races so far this election cycle, eclipsing 2024 spending. Groups can spend unlimited amounts on “independent expenditures” to boost or oppose a candidate, providing they don’t coordinate with the campaign.

Since they came on the scene in January, two new tech-backed groups have dominated spending in legislative races. Grow California, funded by cryptocurrency investor Chris Larsen and venture capitalist Tim Draper as a “counterforce” to union spending, has spent more than $20 million this cycle. California Leads, funded by Meta and Google, has spent close to $14 million this year to support candidates who are focused on “real-world solutions rather than ideological fights.”

  • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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    20 days ago

    Political action committees backed by politically powerful groups such as unions and business

    Worthless libs never miss a chance to throw unions under the bus… Then they talk about a cop “union” and another union spending like 1% of the tech bros… barf

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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      20 days ago

      Unions are like anything else:

      If people stop voting because they accept leadership is always going to be corrupt, the corrupt leaders win.

      Every shitty union can be fixed by it’s workers voting