Many in the film industry can’t picture Gov. Gavin Newsom being recalled, with Paramount Pictures becoming the latest to donate toward efforts focused on defeating a recall election.
Paramount has donated $40,000 to Stop the Republican Recall of Governor Newsom, a committee aiming to stave off a recall of Newsom, as well as $5,000 to the California Democratic Party in March, according to a report by Deadline.
A spokesperson for Paramount told the outlet the contribution actually was made by ViacomCBS, the studio’s parent company, despite the record from the California secretary of state’s office listing Paramount as the contributor. Representatives for Paramount did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
NETFLIX CEO IS LARGEST DONOR TO GAVIN NEWSOM’S RECALL CAMPAIGN
Several others affiliated with the film industry have contributed to Newsom’s expected campaign, including directors J.J. Abrams and Chuck Lorre.
The largest donor to Newsom’s recall fight is Netflix founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings, who donated $3 million to the Democrat’s campaign, according to Politico. Hastings has contributed to Newsom in the past, giving $58,016 for his initial gubernatorial run in 2018, according to records from campaign finance database Follow the Money.
Donations to a candidate for office would normally be subject to campaign finance laws, however, Newsom’s effort to prevail in a recall is considered a ballot initiative rather than a candidacy, lifting the cap.
California is one of 19 states that allow voters to recall their governors. After initially enjoying high approval ratings, Newsom attracted criticism for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many polls showing high disapproval of his state’s economic recovery and vaccine rollout.
On April 26, state officials announced recall organizers gained the necessary number of signatures to force a recall, with more than 1,626,000 verified signatures collected, eclipsing the 1,495,709 signatures required.
Newsom blasted the effort as a “Republican recall” driven by “a partisan, Republican coalition of national Republicans, anti-vaxxers, Q-Anon conspiracy theorists and anti-immigrant Trump supporters.” Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the only candidate to win the governorship in California via a recall election, advised the governor to treat the recall as “a valve” for constituents’ frustrations.
“People have to have a way to let out their anger, and this recall is a way to let out their anger. So, now, it’s up to him to say, ‘Now, wait a minute. OK, maybe I was slow at the wheel in the beginning, but I promise you, this is the kind of governor I will be,’ and then he is going to go and now jump into more action,” he said, adding that the governor has done a “good job” in “improv[ing] his connection with the people” since the recall effort began.
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Several Republican hopefuls are in contention for the governorship, with former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer announcing his candidacy in February and reality television star and former Olympic athlete Caitlyn Jenner filing paperwork in April. Richard Grenell, U.S. ambassador to Germany and acting director of National Intelligence under former President Donald Trump, is reportedly mulling a run as well.
The state’s second gubernatorial recall effort is scheduled to take place in the fall, likely in November.
