Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: David Pruitt

27. David Pruitt

A relative newbie on the Top 100, having first been added to the list in 2022, Pruitt solidified his position as a figure of significant influence this year by remaking what is arguably the California Democratic Party’s most valuable annual fundraiser: the Speaker’s Cup. We’re told it was Pruitt’s idea to ditch AT&T’s longstanding sponsorship in favor of the newly-created Speaker’s Circle, which cost donors major coin to join. We’ll leave the actual number to your imagination, but suffice to say it has been talked about in hushed tones throughout the Capitol community. Although, to be clear, at the time of this writing, we don’t know exactly which interests donated big to the Speaker’s Cup, since the disclosure filings aren’t due until July 31. But whatever the final numbers turn out to be, Pruitt’s boldness as a fundraiser is now the stuff of legend. We’ve heard him called an “evil genius,” a title we’re sure he’d take as a compliment.

Updated Aug. 7, 2024