Koch brothers’ cash will wash over California, experts say

Koch brothers David (left) and Charles Koch.

Koch brothers David (left) and Charles Koch. Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack, Associated Press Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack, Associated Press Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Koch brothers’ cash will wash over California, experts say 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

The billionaire Koch brothers’ intention to spend nearly $900 million on conservative candidates and causes in the 2016 election cycle will unleash a tidal wave of cash that will swamp the political landscape even in solidly blue California, experts said Tuesday.

When it comes to spreading money around, the spending plan that industrialists Charles and David Koch unveiled Monday will put the brothers and an estimated 300 conservative mega-donors in their network on a plane now occupied only by the country’s two major political parties.

“It is staggering,” said Jessica Levinson, who teaches political ethics at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “It’s not a pebble in the pond, it’s an asteroid in the ocean.”

The cascade of conservative cash is “an amount we could not have fathomed 10 years ago,” Levinson said. Not even California and other strongly Democratic states will be exempt from its effects, she said.

“It will change the tenor, the narrative of the debate and what we talk about,” Levinson said.

One race certain to be affected by the Kochs’ money, she said, is the contest for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by California Democrat Barbara Boxer, even though no prominent Republican candidates are on the horizon.

“No race is run in isolation, and to the extent the discussion about tax cuts and immigration reform happens in Ohio, candidates get asked about it in California,” Levinson said.

Dan Newman, a partner in SCN Strategies, the political consulting firm working with Democratic Senate candidate and state Attorney General Kamala Harris, noted that the Kochs have been active in California in past elections — including funneling millions in 2012 into a pair of initiative campaigns.

Harris and the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission reached a 2013 settlement fining two nonprofit political groups a total of $1 million for violating reporting laws in disbursing Koch-related money in 2012 against the tax-raising Proposition 30 and for Proposition 32, which would have limited labor unions’ political spending. This month, the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity political action committee filed a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles, claiming that Harris’ office had violated the group’s First Amendment rights by demanding a list of its 2012 donors.

No reason to skimp

National conservative groups have jumped into races involving Harris in the past, including in 2010 when she was first elected attorney general. Crossroads GPS, founded by former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove, spent $1 million against Harris in that race and warned conservative voters to “stop her now,” Newman noted.

In a normal election, “when the Republican Party is forced to do triage, they’ll often skip California, because there are states where they can do more with fewer dollars,” Newman said.

“But when you’re talking about a billion dollars, that’s enough to spend virtually everywhere,” he said. “That’s more than was spent on every Senate race in the country in the last cycle.”

Newman added, “This order of magnitude is different, so they really don’t have to make those tough decisions about where to spend it. They could be involved in ballot issues, the Senate race, the governor’s race in four years, and House races that could make a difference.”

Backfire potential

Some said the Koch brothers’ announcement could still backfire, coming in a cycle when GOP presidential possibles, including Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney, are talking about putting poverty issues front and center.

“The Republican Party is developing a very serious Koch addiction — and, as we know, all addictions end badly,” said Democratic strategist Garry South. “This $900 million from two billionaire plutocrats will fit in nicely with the GOP’s newfound concern about income inequality.”

Levinson said the Kochs’ actions may “embolden both sides” of the political spectrum — especially California’s progressives.

“All you have to say is, 'A billion dollars — let’s do something!’” she said. “Nothing is going to get campaign finance reform efforts going like the Koch brothers.”

Carla Marinucci is The San Francisco Chronicle’s senior political writer. E-mail: cmarinucci@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @cmarinucci