California to award brand campaign to company that advised Saudi Arabia after journalist’s killing
The state intends to reward a $19 million contract to burnish its national image to a global communications agency that helped Saudi Arabia repair its reputation abroad after royal officials green lit the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development intends to award Edelman the California Brand Campaign contract, according to a notification letter published last Wednesday.
Last month, the state issued a request for proposals to help shore up its image nationwide, with an emphasis on California’s position as the world’s 4th-largest economy and to “showcase its vibrant, diverse business community.” The contract is anticipated to run through the end of the year, according to a fact sheet from the governor’s office.
Edelman is one of the U.S.’s largest communications firms with offices all over the world, including two in San Francisco and Los Angeles. In 2022, Politico reported that Saudi Arabia hired Edelman for a five-year contract to advise Saudi officials on partnering with celebrities and reshaping its image after the Khashoggi killing made the country a global “pariah.”
Edelman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was unclear if it still holds a contract with Saudi Arabia, who was paying the firm $787,000 a year, according to Politico.
Former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa worked at one time for Edelman, which has also advised the Saudi-backed LIV professional golf tour and helped burnish the images of companies like Sara Lee goods, Advil and the California Wine Institute, and promoted a young Maya Lin after she debuted the Vietnam War memorial.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the assassination of Khashoggi, a Saudi reporter who fled to the U.S. and began writing for The Washington Post after the kingdom cracked down on public dissent by rounding up and arresting government critics.
Saudi operatives strangled and dismembered Khashoggi’s body in October 2018 with a bone saw in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul after he went there to pick up a document to get married.
On the campaign trail, Joe Biden promised to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” by isolating bin Salman but later met with him and softened his stance once he became president.
Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, has been soliciting money for his private equity firm from Saudi officials while acting as one of Trump’s chief mediators for peace in the Middle East.
Spokespeople for Gov. Gavin Newsom emphasized that the contract had little to do with the governor, who is termed out of office at the end of the year and is mulling a run for president in 2028.
Newsom has publicly said very little about Saudi Arabia, other than sporadically criticizing the U.S.’s dependence on it for oil exports.
“This effort is about California’s success, not about politics. The Governor is not part of these campaigns and will not be featured,” spokesperson Tara Gallegos said about the brand campaign.
“Additionally, marketing campaigns are common practice in economic development, in red and blue states alike.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2026 at 2:14 PM with the headline "California to award brand campaign to company that advised Saudi Arabia after journalist’s killing."
