Planned Parenthood of California plans to launch a multimillion-dollar campaign Tuesday to oust Republicans from several California congressional districts, the latest sign of how critical the state's House races will be in determining which party takes control of the House of Representatives. after the November elections.
The effort, coordinated by an independent campaign arm of the reproductive rights organization, is a reflection of the role abortion will play in the fall, particularly among suburban women voters, following the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned federal protection of the right to abortion and laws were subsequently passed in several states to drastically limit access to the procedure.
California is expected to be a focus of spending by multiple groups on both sides of the aisle due to the number of competitive races in the state.
While Californians voted overwhelmingly in 2022 to enshrine the right to abortion and access to contraceptives in the state Constitution following the Supreme Court decision, leaders of Planned Parenthood and other Democratic groups argue that the election of a Republican president and The GOP takeover of the Senate and House could result in a nationwide ban.
“The road to [reproductive] freedom sweeps across California this year,” Jodi Hicks, leader of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California VOTES, an independent expenditure committee, told The Times. “We have done what we have done to protect California and ensure that California is a state of reproductive freedom.”
But he said that even though more than two-thirds of voters support Proposition 1 in 2022, the state constitutional amendment that protects abortion rights, there is a “disconnect” in terms of understanding that the state's protection of abortion rights could be eliminated by legislative or federal measures. legal action.
“The only real way to ensure that California is a state of reproductive freedom is to make sure that we elect a Congress that is committed to protecting those freedoms,” Hicks said. “Every election we have, politicians can take those freedoms away from us.”
Hick's group is the latest Super PAC to announce plans to invest heavily in California's congressional elections.
“This is the state that is going to decide control of Congress,” said Dan Schnur, a politics professor at USC, Pepperdine and UC Berkeley.
Candidates often rely on outside groups to bolster their campaigns with television ads and other voter outreach because the state is home to some of the most expensive media markets in the country and federal limits on donations they can receive are relatively low.
Congressional candidates can receive a maximum of $6,600 in contributions from individuals to their committees, according to Federal Election Committee rules. But donors can contribute nearly $2 million to party-affiliated committees and unlimited amounts to Super PACs, like the Planned Parenthood effort, that are prohibited from coordinating with candidates.
House Majority PAC, a Democratic effort; a Republican group targeting Latino voters funded by the billionaire industrialists Koch brothers; a California Donor Board effort called “Battleground California” led by minority leaders in competitive districts; and other groups have also announced plans to spend on California congressional elections.
“As one of the richest states in the world, California could be a model of progress and possibilities to ensure a future where every family can get the health care they need, where every full-time job provides a living wage and safe and affordable housing. “It is not provided as a luxury but as a right,” Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, said in a statement. “Battleground California is not just about winning elections; “It is about winning a future that gives hope to ordinary people.”
Independent arms of the Republican and Democratic national congressional committees are also expected to be active in California, as is the Congressional Leadership Fund, a Super PAC dedicated to electing Republicans to Congress that spent about $33 million in the state on the 2022 midterm elections. .
“For consecutive cycles, Republicans have won California with quality candidates who fit their districts and toxic Democratic policies that have left voters fed up with rising crime and skyrocketing costs,” said CLF spokesperson Courtney Parella. . “California is essential to maintaining and growing our majority in the House of Representatives, and CLF will invest tremendously here.”
The Club for Growth, a free-market, limited-government group that has backed Scott Baugh in an open, highly competitive district in Orange County, could also weigh in.
Political committees don't always follow through with announced spending plans, so it remains to be seen how much PACs will actually spend in California. But unless there is a seismic shift in the country's politics between now and the November elections, the state is expected to be pivotal in determining control of the House, where Republicans hold a razor-thin majority.
California has the largest congressional delegation in the nation, with 52 members, and because of the state's independent redistricting, 10 are classified as undecided, competitive or potentially vulnerable, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which has tracked the House of Representatives. and Senate races for decades. That's the most of any state in the nation.
Half of those districts are represented by Republicans in Congress (Reps. Young Kim of Placentia, Michelle Steel of Seal Beach, John Duarte of Modesto, David Valadao of Hanford and Mike Garcia of Santa Clarita), but they were won by President Biden in the 2020 presidential election, according to the nonpartisan California Target Book, which tracks the state's congressional and congressional races.
“It took a few cycles for the impact of the independent redistricting committee to take effect, but once it did, it created a much larger number of competitive districts,” Schnur said.
He added that two of the issues that seem to be most prominent in this election – abortion and immigration – are at the forefront in many California communities.
All eight districts targeted by Planned Parenthood (seven represented by Republicans and the narrow Orange County district that is open due to Rep. Katie Porter's failed Senate bid) voted to support Proposition 1 in 2022.
“There are many pro-choice suburban women in California who wouldn't mind seeing a border wall” and other aggressive efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, Schnur said. “This election will be fought over which of those two issues matters more. The battle for Congress is a battle for the suburbs, and California is the quintessential suburb.”
