North Carolina and Georgia Democrats’ ATM May Dry Up after Netflix’s Bad Year
Reed Hastings built a Democratic fundraising empire on Netflix's success. Now, with the streaming giant bleeding subscribers, walking away from an $83 billion merger in defeat, and hiking prices to plug the gap, Democrats in battleground states. like North Carolina and Georgia, may be staring down the most expensive midterm cycle in years, with their biggest ATM running on empty.
For Democrats in North Carolina and Georgia, it's a money problem. Now that the company is taking serious financial hits, raising prices, and losing customers, leading some to wonder whether the mega democrat donors, including Chairman Reed Hastings, will have the means to help battleground Democrats heading into the midterms.
Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters called it quits to the Warner acquisition on February 26, releasing a statement saying the deal was "no longer financially attractive," a stunning retreat after the company had spent months positioning itself as Warner's preferred buyer, only to be outbid at $111 billion.
The failed merger wasn't cheap, and the financial damage to its reputation and strategic ambitions is considerable. The company had hoped to absorb HBO, the Warner Bros. movie studio, and CNN's vast media empire. Instead, it walks away empty-handed while Paramount Skydance inherits one of Hollywood's largest content libraries.
Making matters worse, Netflix just turned to its subscribers to make up the difference. On March 26, the company announced its second price hike in just over a year. The Standard plan now costs $19.99 per month, up $2, while the Premium plan jumped to $26.99. Even the budget-friendly ad-supported tier wasn't spared, climbing to $8.99 per month. The backlash was swift, with subscribers flooding social media vowing to cancel.
For casual observers, this may look like a simple business story. But for North Carolina and Georgia Democrats, the consequences could be very real.
Netflix Executive Chairman Reed Hastings has long been one of the Democratic Party's most reliable mega-donors. In 2024, he cut a $7 million check to a super PAC supporting Kamala Harris's presidential campaign. He has also previously been a significant spender in high-stakes Democratic races, including Georgia's critical Senate runoff elections.
Numerous Netflix employees have also funded North Carolina's Democratic political ecosystem, where out-of-state donor money from tech and entertainment executives has played an increasingly important role in competitive statewide races and legislative fights.
Now, with Netflix bleeding credibility after a failed mega-merger, hemorrhaging subscribers over repeated price hikes, and under mounting pressure to deliver organic growth after walking away from its biggest strategic bet, the question is whether Hastings and others will have the same appetite, or financial runway, for big political spending in the cycles ahead.
The short answer: don't count on it.
When a company's stock is under pressure and its core product pricing is driving customers to the exits, political generosity tends to dry up fast. North Carolina and Georgia Democrats who have benefited from the Netflix orbit's financial hand may soon run dry, at exactly the moment they need it most.
