McDonald’s, Meta-funded PACs are spending $2M in this Fresno assembly race
Political spending groups — including those funded by Facebook owner Meta and McDonald’s franchise owners — are spending $2 million dollars in support of Fresno assembly candidate Annalisa Perea.
Perea, a Fresno city council member, is a Democratic frontrunner in the race to replace Dr. Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) in the California State Assembly District 31. Arambula, an emergency room physician, has represented the district since 2016. He’s currently seeking a seat on Fresno City Council to represent District 3.
Perea’s brother Henry T. Perea previously held the seat from 2010-2015, but left his final term a year early to pursue policy advocacy and lobbying positions with the pharmaceutical and oil industries.
Also in the race is Jim Polsgrove, a Republican and retired engineering technician, as well as Sandra Celedon, a public health nonprofit director and progressive Democrat endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and the Working Families Party.
Political strategists and campaign finance experts say there’s likely a disproportionate amount of independent expenditure money in this competitive race because the longtime incumbent is vacating the seat, and there’s an opportunity to influence what kind of candidate will potentially be in office for up to twelve years.
An independent expenditure is a type of expense on communications that advocates for or against a candidate without coordination with the candidate. Under state law, there are no limits on contributions made to independent expenditure committees.
“What you’re witnessing is a once-in-a-decade turnover in the legislature,” political strategist Mike Madrid said. Madrid, a partner at the Grassroots Lab political consulting firm, said he was involved in the campaign to elect Arambula to the seat in 2016.
“And in a place like the Valley, you have the opportunity to have a very different type of Democrat that’s much more aligned with business groups and employer groups because of the economic needs in the Valley. And businesses need those Democratic votes,” Madrid said.
Mason Herron, creator of the campaign finance platform The Ballot Book, said that other state races have much higher total spending, both in terms of independent expenditure spending and direct contributions, such as the $11 million in IE spending on the 67th assembly seat in southern California. He estimated the $2.5 million total IE spending for the 31st district seat was about 10th or 11th place compared to all other statewide races.
“It’s still notable, I would say,” Herron said.
When asked about the IE spending, Perea emphasized the community support behind her and called out the “outside money” behind Celedon’s campaign.
“Our campaign is fueled by the people who actually live, work, and raise their families right here in District 31,” Perea’s campaign spokesperson Haley Townes said in a statement.
“While my opponent has relied on out-of-town cash from special interest groups since the beginning of her campaign, our momentum comes from the ground up. You can’t fake local trust and no amount of outside money can replace the real voices of our community,” the statement said.
Since March 2025, Perea has raised $584,847 in direct contributions made up of 209 contributions from a broad base of PACs, business groups, labor groups and individuals, according to state data.
Celedon said these industry groups know she’s the type of candidate that will stand up to them, which is why they’re supporting her opponent. Her campaign has sent multiple mailers calling out the more than $1 million spent by corporations to elect Perea, saying she is “backed by billion-dollar corporations making life more expensive.”
“In politics, the money tells you the story,” Celedon said. “That is why they’re working so hard to keep me out of Sacramento, because I am running to fight for working-class people,” she said.
The California Working Families Party, as well as labor, youth and environmental-backed PACs, have spent $132,084 on independent expenditures in support of Celedon’s campaign, according to state records. She has raised nearly $294,000 from 583 direct contributions.
Herron noted there’s an additional $469,000 in support of Celedon’s campaign that he said was filed on the wrong form. Celedon’s campaign said these expenses made on her behalf last year from health and environmental groups.
Meanwhile, $6,239 has been spent on mailers in support of Polsgrove, who has raised about $32,000 — $25,000 of which is his own money .
Groups spend to elect Perea
According to Secretary of State data, two PACs funded by Meta and Google — California Leads and Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California — have spent $1.26 million on independent expenditures such as advertisements and mailers in support of Perea.
California Leads’ top funders are Meta Platforms, Google and affiliated entities and SV Angel Management, according to its website.
California Leads has spent more than $7.6 million on eight candidates since 2025, including three in the Central Valley: $962,000 on Perea, $1.7 million on Andrae Gonzalez, a Bakersfield Democrat running to replace Dr. Jasmeet Bains in the 35th district and $115,000 on Esmeralda Soria (D-Fresno), the 27th district assemblymember running to represent the State Senate’s 14th district.
According to Politico, Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California is a super PAC funded by tech giant Meta to support candidates for state offices “who favor AI innovation over stringent regulation.”
The group has spent $1.5 million on five assembly and state senate candidates since 2025, including more than $254,000 in support of Perea and $215,000 on Gonzalez.
Madrid said Silicon Valley companies and individuals are spending more than usual on state legislative races due to potential changes with AI policy, data center policies and the proposed wealth tax.
“They’re looking for Democratic voices that are willing to fight for industries like those,” Madrid said.
The California Alliance of Family Owned Businesses PAC, a group that is primarily funded by McDonald’s franchise owners, has spent nearly $384,000 on canvassers, mailers and research in support of Perea’s campaign, according to state data. One of the group’s top funders on its website is RLMK Inc., which runs several Central Valley-based McDonald’s fast-food restaurants, according to the Visalia Times Delta.
Other groups making independent expenditures of about $427,000 on behalf of Perea include an oil and gas-backed PAC, the SEIU Local 2015, the LGBT Caucus Leadership Fund and Keep California Golden, a group funded by California Association of Realtors, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association and the California Building Industry Association.
Roughly half a million dollars was spent on independent expenditures when Arambula ran for the seat in 2016, according to state records, and about $1.4 million was spent to support Soria in her bid for the 27th assembly seat between the 2022 primary and general elections.
The primary election will take place on June 2. The top two candidates will face a runoff in the general elections on November 3.
