Netflix’s Reed Hastings Gives $3 Million To Gavin Newsom Anti-Recall Fund

Reed Hastings, co-CEO of Netflix, has shelled out $3 million to a fund opposed to the recall of California Governor Gavin Newsom.

The contribution was reported to the California Secretary of State on Thursday afternoon, and is the largest single contribution to date to the Stop The Republican Recall.

Hastings, a longtime donor to Democrats, contributed $7 million in 2018 to the California Charter Schools Association’s effort to elect former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in the year’s gubernatorial primary. But Villaraigosa lost to Newsom and Republican John Cox, who advanced to the general election.

Stop The Republican Recall includes other major funding from the California Democratic Party, Professional Engineers in California Government PECG-PAC and Stewart Resnick.

Newsom will likely have a huge war chest. He also has been raising directly for his 2022 campaign fund, with recent donors including JJ Abrams and Katie McGrath, who each contributed $32,400. Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg also each contributed that amount. Other donors include Sherry Lansing, Tom Rothman, Jeff Skoll, Chris Silbermann and Jeff Shell.

The recall is assured to make the ballot later this year, after the Secretary of State confirmed that organizers passed the signature threshold. Cox has declared his candidacy, along with former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, former congressman Doug Ose and Caitlyn Jenner.

Although the Secretary of State record of Hastings’ contribution listed him as CEO, Ted Sarandos was named his co-CEO in July.

The governor and his wife reported $1.68 million in adjusted gross income for the year 2019.