DJ Khaled to Perform at L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Midterm Fundraiser

By Ted Johnson

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – DJ Khaled will perform at a Sept. 25 fundraiser hosted by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to raise money for state parties in advance of the midterms.

Jimmy Kimmel will emcee the event, to be held at the Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles. Tickets start at $100 per person, with the goal of raising $1 million for 10 state parties.

Allies of Garcetti set up the Democratic Midterm Victory Fund, focused on state races that otherwise may be overlooked as Democrats try to win back control of the House and the Senate.

“I saw, among other things, the right wing in this country was pouring years of money and organizing and assistance into local and state parties and elections, and Democrats weren’t,” Garcetti told Variety. “We kind of woke up one day, not only with the White House not in our hands, but wondering why both houses of Congress, gubernatorial seats, and state legislatures suddenly weren’t in Democratic hands, in a country where more Americans voted for Democrats than they do for Republicans.”

Garcetti is weighing a 2020 presidential bid, and his state party fundraising is also one way to build ties and contacts with out-of-state officials. He’s also been traveling to some early caucus and primary states, including Iowa in April. He visited Ohio last week week, and heads to South Carolina later this month.

The fundraiser will raise money for state parties in California, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. He headlined a fundraiser for the South Carolina Democratic Party in May, at the home of Showtime president and CEO David Nevins.