Republicans in California believe that a ballot measure to repeal the state's 12-cent per gallon gas tax could be a way to push back a Democratic wave in the state, Politico reported.
Former San Diego city council member Carl DeMaio announced that he had raised more than $1.1 million for his campaign to repeal the tax, and polls suggest the repeal could pass in November.
The repeal effort, Proposition 6 on California's November ballot, has gained support from national Republicans including House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
They are counting on the bill to pull in enough supporters to save some endangered California GOP House members, which could keep the House from falling into the hands of the Democrats, according to Politico.
And Republicans say repealing the gas tax is a "unifying issue."
"The gas tax repeal definitely looks like a winner for the GOP… on one hand, you hear Democrats bragging that the state is in great shape and that we have a budget surplus, but at the same time they're saying we need to raise your taxes. So, OK, you've got all this money — and you need more?" said Matt Cunningham, a southern California-based Republican consultant, Politico reported.
DeMaio said that Republicans could build on success after the gas repeal measure, and "if you want to be a true opposition party you have to mount a true opposition and up to this point, Republicans have not been able to do that… my hope is that that infrastructure will then be utilized to go after something else."
However, California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman says that Republicans don't have the support to pass the repeal.
"I've got more than $10 million in the bank right now and I haven't started fundraising for the fall yet… this is their Hail Mary, to try to use this repeal of the road repair measure to light a fire under their voters… but here's the reality: They don't have any voters," Bauman said, Politico reported.
The gas tax measure will add about 68,000 construction and engineering jobs each year, said Michael Quigley, executive director of the California Alliance for Jobs, while Roger Dickinson, the executive director of Transportation California, said that 5,000 projects would be at risk if the gas tax was removed, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.
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