Newsom rolls out 'shock and awe' ad campaign for redistricting measure

LOS ANGELES — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is rolling out a barrage of new ads to sell voters on his redistricting measure, casting President Donald Trump as the face of the high-stakes special election.

The Democratic governor is releasing two ads Tuesday on his social media channels — two of at least nine spots he plans to release this week — as the ad wars over the ballot measure begin in earnest.

“This is a shock and awe approach,” said Sean Clegg, a senior Newsom strategist. “It’s not your grandmother’s media campaign where you do one woodworking ad” — a jab at the latest spot by the measure’s opponents — “and put it across all platforms. We’re living in a very different media environment.”

The same day, a committee opposing the measure financed by GOP mega-donor Charles Munger Jr. released its ad portraying Proposition 50 as a destroyer of the state’s independent redistricting panel, which voters first approved nearly 20 years ago.



https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/02/newsom-rolls-out-shock-and-awe-ad-campaign-for-redistricting-measure-00539331