In California, there is one senator for every 20 million people. In Wyoming there is one senator for every 290,000 people. Yet they both vote equally on the laws and judges who determine our rights and freedoms. This simple fact is why Bay Area donors should care about a Senate race in a small-population state - the vote of a Wyoming senator counts just as much as a California senator, even though they represent 6500% more citizens.
Californians have long embraced common sense rights and freedoms that are only considered "progressive" by deeply red states: family leave, livable minimum wage, LGBTQ rights, guaranteed health care for the elderly and disabled, environmental protection, common sense gun rights. And with over 11% of the US population, California's voice should loom large on these issues. But it doesn't, for the simple reason that all legislation related to these issues has to go through the Senate—which is two votes per state, no matter the population.
This math made sense when there were only 13 colonies. When the U.S. Constitution was written in 1788, commerce and travel between the colonies was slow. Their customs and industries were varied. The largest two colonies (Virginia and Pennsylvania) were 8.8x the size of the two smallest colonies (Rhode Island and Delaware). But today, there are 50 states, commerce and travel between states is frictionless, and most forms of employment can be found in all states. The ratio between the two largest states (California and Texas) and the two smallest states (Wyoming and Vermont) is roughly 57x!
So while we may feel uncomfortable as Californians investing in U.S. House races—since those elected officials represent their constituents on an equal basis across the country—it is totally within our rights to invest in U.S. Senate races. In fact, our future is counting on us to do so!