Los Angeles County GOP Chair Roxanne Hoge has issued an appeal for Republicans to "send help" to California, citing what she described as rampant corruption and an "obsession" with control by state officials. Hoge specifically addressed a viral video posted by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, in which Bass stated the city would match donations to her re-election campaign at a six-to-one ratio.
"The rest of the country doesn't understand what we're living under here," Hoge told Fox News Digital. "The number one thing people need to understand about Los Angeles in particular and California in general is that they've codified all of their shenanigans." She characterized this as normal people considering actions like cheating or unusual electoral processes as simply "rules" in Los Angeles.
In the video, Mayor Bass, a progressive, stated, "when you donate to our campaign, the city can match your donation 6 to 1," adding, "If you donate $5, the city turns it into $35." She explained that "thanks to LA’s super match program, every qualified donation from Los Angeles residents is matched six to one by the city." Bass added that after the mayoral primary, her campaign "had to start over from scratch" and urged supporters to make "matching donations." The comments drew criticism on social media, with users questioning the legality and ethics of using taxpayer funds to support a re-election campaign.
Hoge clarified that the matching-funds program Bass referenced is legal under a public campaign-financing system approved by Los Angeles voters in 1990 and later expanded by the City Council. "Voters passed something that sounded so good; they always sound so good at the beginning. Public financing matching funds for campaigns on a one-to-one basis. That seems great, right?" Hoge said. "And then it transmogrifies… into what we have today, this many-headed hydra of insanity where taxpayers are on the hook for $6 for every dollar raised by a city of L.A. candidate." She noted the program applies to mayoral and City Council campaigns, where many members of the Democratic Socialists of America are currently active.
Hoge suggested that Bass's message reflects a long-standing dynamic in California politics, invoking the phrase "Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown," to describe the sentiment of going against City Hall. She also commented on the mayoral primary, where former reality television personality Spencer Pratt ran, stating, "We saw Spencer Pratt mount a very strong argument for sanity and good governance. It wasn't partisan, what he was saying. It was pure common sense, and they rose up because they were threatened."
Despite the state's political climate, Hoge urged Republicans not to abandon California, calling it "a total gem" and a place where "you should be free to write your own story." She reiterated the call for Republicans to "send help."