California Donor Table

Experts say the growth of the moderate bloc is a testament to the success of electoral reform efforts — a new redistricting process, longer term limits and the “top-two” primary system chief among them — aimed at eroding the influence of extreme liberals and conservatives who have dominated the state’s political discourse for decades. However, it has also given an unexpected advantage to deep-pocketed corporations who have figured out that moderate Democrats can be their best allies in a state where Republicans are often an irrelevant minority.