Democratic leaders criticize Prop 45. campaign for donations to CA GOP, DeMaio

By Andrew Graham

September 30, 2026 10:12 AM

Recent campaign filings by the Yes on Proposition 45 campaign revealed two donations that quickly drew condemnations from Democratic leaders. One was a $750,000 donation to the California Republican Party and the other a $100,000 check to Reform California, the political organization run by firebrand conservative Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, R-Valley Center.

When the donation to the state GOP surfaced, California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks accused the campaign, which is focused on easing the path to construction for projects its backers deem essential to public infrastructure and housing, of infusing Republican coffers with cash that could be spent pushing a voter identification measure that is deeply unpopular with state leaders.

Then, on Monday, two of the most powerful elected officials in the state, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister and Senate President pro Tem Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, criticized the donation to DeMaio’s group, which sponsored Proposition 39, the voting ID requirement. Politico first reported on both developments.

It’s common practice for ballot measure committees to chip in for campaign literature and advertising by political groups who endorsed their cause. And while the California Republican Party endorsed Proposition 45, the state Democratic Party chose to oppose it. But now, the Democratic leaders allege the campaign behind Prop. 45, which has roots in a long-running debate over the California Environmental Quality Act and has not been a starkly partisan issue, has coalesced with DeMaio and Republicans’ voter ID push.

“They’re aligned with Trump and DeMaio in the effort to deny Californians the right to vote,” the two caucus leaders said in a statement. Neither Rivas nor Límon has taken an official position on Prop. 45 itself, their spokespeople told The Sacramento Bee.

The campaign against Prop. 45 was quick to flag the donations — seeing a chance to tie their opponents to Republicans in a Democrat-leaning state where President Donald Trump is sweepingly unpopular.

“What campaign has made the biggest contribution to the California Republican Party this year?” the No on Prop. 45 campaign posted on X. “The polluters backing (Proposition 45).”

Supporters of the Yes campaign say their measure does not undo environmental protections but instead streamlines approval for projects in eight categories of building projects — housing and public health developments (such as hospitals); clean energy; water infrastructure; schools including higher education facilities; public safety projects, including wildfire mitigation work like vegetation management; transportation; and broadband and digital access.

The measure works largely by imposing deadlines on state agencies and courts to issue decisions on those projects, proponents say. However, their critics argue the measure stacks the deck in favor of approval.

The Yes campaign described the donations as a routine tactic.

“The defenders of California’s unaffordable status quo are desperate to talk about anything other than what Prop. 45 actually does. No Prop. 45 funds have been spent to support another ballot measure,” said Amelia Matier, a spokesperson for the Yes campaign, in a statement. She also noted that many funders of the Yes campaign — which includes a long list of established business associations and wealthy individual Californians — had together given millions to the California Democratic Party.

Just this year, there was at least $4 million given to that party by major Prop. 45 backers like the California Chamber of Commerce, utility companies and the California Hospital Association, among others. The No Campaign gave $303,500 to the state Democratic Party, according to filings.

It’s not unusual for disparate political groups to find common ground and share funding accordingly, especially among ballot measure committees where campaign finance rules are somewhat looser, said Sonoma State University political science professor David McCuan. With the GOP and Reform California’s endorsement, the Yes on Prop. 45 campaign stands to benefit from efforts to drive Republican turnout, he said, particularly in a year that party is worried about voter enthusiasm.

“For the folks who are yes on 45, it wouldn’t be so bad if there was a (stronger) ‘Yes on 39’ campaign,” McCuan said. “Democrats think the sky is falling this election if they don’t flip the U.S. House. Republicans have a lot less of a reason to come out.”

Money for campaign mail

The Yes campaign’s donation to Reform California is labeled as money for a slate mailer — mailed guides to the group’s followers suggesting how they vote on ballot measures. DeMaio’s group weighs in on every ballot measure, including local ones, and has reach across the state, according to the group’s website. Campaign finance filings indicate Reform California receives money from ballot measure campaigns, as well as candidates for state, local and federal office to help pay for its mailers.

The Yes campaign listed donations to at least six other groups for mailers in its most recent filings.

DeMaio criticized Limón and Rivas for using their stature as elected leaders to try and dictate how campaigns spend money.

“I know that California Democrats have gotten comfortable with their supermajority, but it’s clear that now the corruption is being said out loud,” DeMaio said. “It is outrageous that elected officials are threatening groups who want to contribute to a campaign and bully them simply to try to stop them from trying to participate in the political process.”

The Yes campaign’s donation to the state Republican Party does not specify a purpose for the money. The $750,000 appears to be the largest single contribution the state party has reported this year.

“It’s unfortunate because CA GOP will likely just waste it on trying to pass Trump-backed Prop. 39 in hopes of making it harder to vote in California,” CADEM’s Hicks told Politico last week. “Luckily, California Republicans have been on a decades-long losing streak — one that is sure to continue on Nov. 3.”

Hicks’ suggestion about how the money would be spent was “false,” California Republican Party spokesperson Matt Shupe said.

“It is no surprise that anti-affordable housing Rusty and the California Democrats, are once again attempting to deceive Californians by ducking, dodging and dipping away from having a substantive debate on the issues or any sense of accountability for their decades of failed leadership,” Shupe said. “The only ideas they offer is ‘Trump is bad’ while being unable to solve a single problem in California.”

It’s unclear how the partisan back and forth will impact voters weighing whether to endorse Prop. 45 in November.

“The problem is (campaign dollar transfers) is kind of an inside baseball kind of move,” McCuan said. “It doesn’t necessarily really grab voter attention.”

Publicly available polling has shown a split electorate over Prop. 45 — but not one along party lines. A Public Policy Institute of California poll found only a slim majority, 49%, of likely voters said they’d vote yes on Prop. 45, while 46% said no and 5% said they were undecided.

Among Democrat voters, 48% said they’d vote yes, while 45% said no, with the rest undecided.

Republican voters weren’t that different on the measure. Prop. 45 may need the Republicans were far from convinced as well. Fifty-one percent of likely Republican voters told PPIC’s pollsters they’d vote yes, while 47% said no. At least five county-level Republican parties have recommended a No vote on Prop 45 — Del Norte, Fresno, Solano, San Luis Obispo and Marin.