Ryan backs state gas-tax repeal
SACRAMENTO — House Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin is among the Republicans from outside California who have contributed to the campaign to repeal the state’s gas tax increase, showing that the effort has national interest from GOP leaders who see it as a way to boost their party’s chances in the Golden State for this year’s election.
Ryan’s congressional campaign committee gave $50,000 to Give Voters a Voice, the main group behind an effort to qualify a repeal measure for the November ballot, according to documents filed by the campaign. The campaign also received $25,000 from a political account of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.). House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has also donated $300,000 to the Give Voters a Voice campaign.
Carl DeMaio, a leader of the repeal campaign, recently acknowledged in an email to supporters that the initiative is seen as a way to boost the chances for Republican candidates in California, where Democrats dominate the electorate. The contributions from Republican leaders come in a year when the GOP is fighting to keep its majority in Congress.
“As you know, repealing the car and gas tax is the hottest issue in California and we want to make sure we use this ballot initiative as a way to draw Republicans and elect Republicans in the November election,” DeMaio wrote to activists attending the state Republican convention this weekend in San Diego.
The former San Diego City Council member is hosting a meeting at the convention where he will be “collecting ideas from each region on how they want to use the initiative in their local races,” he wrote.
The contributions from out of state drew criticism from Kathy Fairbanks, a spokeswoman for the campaign against a repeal initiative.
“These contributions are further proof that the initiative is nothing more than a D.C. Republican political power grab — and they’re putting California drivers and our road repairs at risk,” Fairbanks said.
Meanwhile, organizers of the initiative are in the process of turning in the last of 965,087 signatures in hopes of qualifying the ballot measure. The group needs 585,407 signatures from registered voters to get the initiative on the ballot.