Netflix is facing new boycott demands after co-founder Reed Hastings donated $2 million to Gavin Newsom’s campaign to redraw California’s congressional districts. The proposed maps could allow Democrats to gain as many as five Republican-held House seats and deliver the party additional power in the House of Representatives. Hastings’s massive contribution placed the streaming company at the center of the escalating national battle over redistricting.
The controversy hinges on California’s effort to adopt new congressional maps before the 2026 midterm elections. Newsom and other Democrats launched the campaign in response to a Republican-backed redistricting plan in Texas, arguing that California should retaliate by redrawing its own districts. California voters were scheduled to decide the matter during a November 4, 2025, special election.
The proposed California map was drawn with national Democrats and could allow the party to capture as many as five additional House seats. Those gains would come largely at the expense of Republicans representing districts across the state. The plan would temporarily replace congressional boundaries created through California’s independent redistricting process.
Boycott demands began circulating after Hastings’s role in financing the campaign became public. A widely circulated X post drew attention to the Netflix co-founder’s contribution as users discussed canceling their subscriptions to the popular streaming app.
As Politico reported, Hastings contributed $2 million to support Newsom’s redistricting campaign. The billionaire has long supported Democratic candidates and causes, and the donation was far from his first major expenditure on Newsom’s behalf. Hastings previously spent $3 million helping the California governor defeat the 2021 recall effort against him.
Hastings defended the California campaign by accusing Texas Republicans of trying to “rig the midterm elections.” He said California had to “step up and fight fire with fire,” presenting the Democratic map as retaliation for Republican action in Texas. His $2 million contribution will help finance the expensive statewide campaign needed to persuade California voters to approve the new districts.
The contribution came from Hastings personally, Netflix itself didn’t donate corporate funds to the campaign. Hastings’s status as the company’s co-founder, however, has kept his political spending closely associated with the Netflix brand. The boycott push asks subscribers to respond through their purchasing decisions and stop supporting a company whose founder is bankrolling Newsom’s redistricting operation.
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Hastings was joined by other wealthy California donors supporting the campaign. Silicon Valley venture capitalist Ron Conway backed the effort, while Y Combinator founder Paul Graham contributed $500,000. California doesn’t limit individual contributions to ballot-measure campaigns, allowing wealthy donors to pour enormous sums into the fight over the state’s congressional boundaries.
Newsom and prominent national Democrats portrayed the California proposal as necessary to counter the Republican map in Texas. Former President Barack Obama and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries supported the effort as Democrats looked for ways to block Republicans from expanding their narrow House majority. The resulting fight turned congressional districts in two states into a nationwide fundraising contest.
Opponents were also preparing to spend heavily. Charles Munger Jr., a supporter of California’s independent redistricting system, had contributed more than $10 million to defeat the initiative. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was leading the Republican counteroffensive and told former colleagues that he intended to raise at least $100 million to stop Newsom’s proposed map.