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California Gov. Gavin Newsom is staring down a recall election over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic — and tech billionaires are preparing to deploy their war chests.
Netflix founder Reed Hastings has unofficially kick-started the fight by making a $3 million donation to back Newsom, according to a new disclosure filed on Thursday evening. That massive sum — by far the largest of any donation to date on either side of the recall fight — is likely just the first in what’s expected to be a big-money brawl among Silicon Valley billionaires, who are somewhat divided on Newsom.