Massive amounts of money are flowing into Virginia’s redistricting referendum as Democrats and Republicans from across the nation wrestle for control of the House of Representatives, but the identities of individual contributors — and their agendas — remain cloaked in secrecy.
About 95 percent of the total $93 million raised so far in Virginia, as of a Monday night filing deadline, came from nonprofit groups not required to disclose their donors, according to state elections records. The proportion of dark money turning up on both sides of the campaign outstrips last year’s similar referendum in California, where wealthy individuals, political committees and unions gave far more than similar nonprofits.
President Donald Trump touched off a redistricting arms race last year by pushing Republican states to create more GOP-leaning congressional districts to help his party maintain its thin majority in the House. Texas, North Carolina and Missouri responded, and then Democrats counterpunched by passing a referendum to create five new blue-leaning districts in California.
Virginia is the next biggest prize for Democrats; its 11 House seats are held by six Democrats and five Republicans, but if voters approve an April 21 referendum, Democrats have promised to implement a map that gives them an advantage in 10 districts.
The main vote-yes group, Virginians for Fair Elections, has reported raising $64 million — far more money than its fragmented opponents. The group has spent $16 million on television ads, outspending anti-redistricting groups 10 to 1 on the airwaves, according to a Post analysis of data provided by tracking firm AdImpact.
But figuring out where Virginians for Fair Elections’ money came from is like unpacking a Russian nesting doll, with layers of other interest groups contributing cash without any requirement that they disclose where their money originated.
One such group, House Majority Forward, the political nonprofit arm of House Democrats, has given nearly $40 million in support of the amendment. Led by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), House Majority Forward is not required by law to disclose its donors.
Another political nonprofit called the Fairness Project donated more than $12 million to Virginians for Fair Elections. That group was in turn funded by other nonprofits including Demand Justice Initiative, Families United for Freedom and Black Progressive Action Coalition. Other top donors included George Soros’ Fund for Policy Reform, which also gave to support the California redistricting ballot measure, and the Virginia Democratic Party.
The opposition effort is made up of several smaller groups. But the largest of those — Virginians for Fair Maps — has an extra layer of masking that obscures the source of its funding. Its top donor is listed in state records as Virginians for Fair Maps, a separate group that shares its name with the referendum committee.
The donor group was created in October, three days after the Virginia General Assembly began considering a constitutional amendment on redistricting. It will probably not report its income or spending for at least another year, but it has given over $19 million to oppose the amendment.
Virginians for Fair Maps spokesman Finlay Lee said the group has “taken thousands of contributions directly from Virginians” but did not provide details in an email to The Post.
Right-wing nonprofit Per Aspera Policy was the largest donor to a separate committee called Justice for Democracy that created anti-redistricting mailers using Klan imageryto target Black voters. Justice for Democracy reported receiving over $7 million from Per Aspera.
In 2024, Per Aspera reported giving almost $1 million to committees backing Blake Masters, the venture capitalist and Peter Thiel protégé who lost in the Republican primary for an Arizona House seat, and Bill Johnson, the Republican former Ohio congressman. Although the group itself is not required to report donors, a nonprofit led by David Sacks reported giving it $200,000 in 2024. Per Aspera received smaller grants from American Leadership Fund and Klal Yisroel, a pair of lower-profile nonprofits.
Eric Lau contributed to this report.
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