| | | | |  | | By Jeremy B. White, Dustin Gardiner and Lara Korte | Presented by California Resources Corporation | COME TALK DRUGS — Join POLITICO March 19 at the Elks Tower in Sacramento for a conversation on prescription drug affordability with Caitlin Berry, of pharmacy benefit management company Prime Therapeutics; Robin Feldman, UCSF law professor; Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California; and state Sen. Scott Wiener. How might officials find savings in the drug supply chain ecosystem? Doors open at 8:30 a.m. RSVP here for “Corrective Action: How to Address Prescription Drug Cost.”
|  Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP | THE BUZZ: WINNERS, LOSERS & FLOPS — Trace the money from last week’s primary and you’ll get a map of the likely 2025 Legislature. Groups funded by unions, realtors, doctors, Uber, oil, and the dialysis industry bombarded Californians with more than $31 million in limitless outside spending. Most of it poured into open, safely Democratic seats — a reminder that in unswervingly blue Sacramento, shades of Democrat are what matter most. About a third of the Legislature is turning over as incumbents either term out or jump ship to run for other posts — and interest groups want to shape the next generation. In many races the Third House got their money’s worth as a Democrat will face a token Republican challenger in November. A few other contests will extend into expensive Democrat-on-Democrat clashes. With the caveat that results aren’t final, here are some takeaways: VILLAPUDUAS VANQUISHED: Former Democratic Rep. Jerry McNerney, a state Senate candidate, and veteran aide Rhodesia Ransom, an Assembly candidate, will almost certainly be representing a pair of Stockton-area seats next year — not Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua, one of the most moderate Assembly Democrats, or his wife Edith Villapudua. The couple’s primary defeats marked a major win for unions, environmentalists and attorneys, and a blow to the oil industry and others spent heavily to protect the Villapuduas. LABOR LOVES: Unions are celebrating after Sasha Renee Perez advanced while boxing out self-funding Democrat Yvonne Yiu in Los Angeles and third-time Joey Acuña put himself in position to secure an open Riverside Assembly seat. Labor didn’t get their preferred Contra Costa candidate as Monica Wilson fell short, but business-backed Karen Mitchoff also faltered and the seat will go to Anamarie Avila Farias, who overcame heavy industry opposition and won over some unions.
|  Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín. | Jeff Chiu/AP | BUSINESS-BUOYED: Industry notched two Sacramento-area wins as Christopher Cabaldon and Maggie Krell bested labor-backed Democrats and will face Republicans in November. Cabaldon was championed by the Yocha Dehe Wintun tribe and by charter schools, who swung and missed on Krell’s opponent Carlos Marquez. Business support put Michelle Rodriguez in position to defeat a Republican and succeed husband and Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez — blocking Robert Torres from claiming the seat his mother Norma Torres held. And then there was an East Bay brawl. Business groups, Uber and real estate spent enormously to propel Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín (who also had labor support) and suppress union leader Kathryn Lybarger, who benefited from millions in union spending, with a business PAC strategically boosting far-left Democrat Jovanka Beckles. It worked: Arreguín got a clear first place finish, and Lybarger currently languishes in fourth. BIG-MONEY MISSES: California Democratic Party chair Rusty Hicks looks likely to flop in the primary though he was buoyed by more than $700,000 from unions and healthcare players; a PAC funded by the sister of his opponent, Ariel Kelley, spent heavily against him. Democratic Santa Rosa Councilmember Chris Rogers is in position to take the seat. And despite a labor onslaught, the bombastic Carl DeMaio, a Republican, crushed the GOP establishment pick, who he is on track to face again in November. Things went better for John Harabedian, who sewed up an LA Assembly seat with ample outside support from industry groups and the blessing of unions and incumbent Democrats — a similar formula to the one that powered Jessica Caloza to a first-place finish in another LA Assembly district. TBD: Two intraparty slugfests are still up in the air. Union-backed Clarissa Cervantes and business-beloved Ronald Fierro have traded a grip on second place – and a likely coronation – in Riverside. In San Bernardino, industry-preferred Adam Perez was holding a slender second place lead over labor-supported DeJonae Marie Shaw. SEEYA IN NOVEMBER: A few Democrat-on-Democrat finales to watch: In Los Angeles, law-enforcement-backed Efren Martinez will face Sade Elhawary, who piled up endorsements from prominent Democrats, in the November election to replace progressive Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, who has led criminal justice and policing bills in the Legislature. Another Los Angeles proxy battle will play out between labor’s pick, Michelle Chambers, and business-buoyed Laura Richardson. And in the Bay Area, staffers Patrick Ahrens and Tara Sreekrishnan will vie to succeed tech-friendly Assemblymember Evan Low. GOOD MORNING. Happy Thursday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. Now you can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts now. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced. | | | | A message from California Resources Corporation: California Resources Corporation (CRC) is committed to advancing the energy transition and empowering California to reach carbon neutrality by 2045. CRC’s Carbon TerraVault provides innovative carbon management solutions that will enable the capture and permanent storage of carbon dioxide, helping deliver the deep emissions reductions needed to decarbonize California’s local economies and achieve its ambitious climate goals. CRC's Carbon TerraVault | | | |  | ELECTION UPDATES | | |  California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a Proposition 1 campaign event. | Terry Chea/AP | PROP 1 WATCH — The margin for the governor’s prized ballot measure is still exceedingly tight, but widened by a few thousand votes on Wednesday. The latest update shows it with 50.08 percent — a lead of about 9,700 votes. The end is in sight: California’s unprocessed ballot count has now fallen under 1 million. Election officials had about 956,000 votes left to count as of last night. LA CITY COUNCIL — Los Angeles City Council Member Nithya Raman could win her reelection bid outright after getting more than 50 percent of the vote in Council District 4. The race hasn’t been called, but Raman was hovering at 50.19 percent yesterday. If she stays above the halfway mark, it’ll be the end of the road for her opponents Ethan Weaver, who is at 39.0 percent, and Levon “Lev” Baronian, who is at 10.81 percent. MCCARTHY’S SUCCESSOR — Two Republicans, Assemblymember Vince Fong and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, will advance to the November election in the race to succeed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in CA-20, following a call from the AP on Wednesday.
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Rep. Robert Garcia. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | And on Tuesday there's a special election to finish out McCarthy’s term, which will give the winner an incumbency advantage in the fall. INSTANT PAYOFF — Rep. Robert Garcia’s support for Rep. Katie Porter's Senate bid is already paying dividends for his campaign. Garcia was the only California House member to endorse Porter, and now she appears to be thanking him with a fundraising blitz. Porter reached out to donors on his behalf this week, telling them in an email that Garcia is picking up a progressive torch in the House. “I trust him to continue our fight against Big Oil, Big Pharma, and multinational corporations that continue to take advantage of Americans,” she wrote. The two Democrats have long supported each other and represent neighboring Long Beach-Orange County seats. FRIEDMAN'S COUP — Democratic Assemblymember Laura Friedman might as well start packing her bags for Washington because she's on track to replace Schiff in the House. The Associated Press projected Wednesday night that Friedman will face Republican physician Alex Balekian — rather than a fellow Democrat — in the November general election. Given it's a safe blue seat, Friedman is almost guaranteed to be Schiff's successor for the Glendale-Burbank area seat north of Los Angeles.
| | | NEWSOMLAND | | |  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee speaks at a 2021 event in support of the previous recall effort targeting Gov. Newsom. Huckabee is flanked, on the right, by Anne Hyde Dunsmore, campaign manager of the pro-recall group Rescue California. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP | CHAMBER’S NO-GO — The powerful California Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors has come out against the latest attempt to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom. They labeled the effort a “misuse of the recall process” and noted the potential cost to taxpayers. The unsuccessful 2021 attempt to recall Newsom cost the state and local governments roughly $200 million. FAMILIAR FACES — The latest recall campaign’s proponents include some familiar names from conservative political circles. Among them: — Anne Hyde Dunsmore, an Orange County fundraiser and the campaign director for Rescue California, which helped lead the prior Newsom’s recall. — Erica Kious, a San Francisco salon owner who blew the whistle on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for having a styling appointment when indoor salon services were still prohibited in the city. — Gracey Van Der Mark, the Huntington Beach mayor who has led the beach town’s conservative revolt, including a ballot measure to ban LGBTQ Pride flags and other nongovernmental banners on city property. — Tony Strickland, a Huntington Beach city councilmember and the former mayor. He has fought Newsom over state housing-construction mandates for local governments. — Michael Antonovich, a former Los Angeles County supervisor, mayor and longtime Republican politician.
| | | | A message from California Resources Corporation:   | | | | | CLIMATE AND ENERGY | | BEWARE THE ‘GREENWASHING’— Los Angeles is gearing up for the 2028 Olympics, but its green promises will be tricky to keep. Read more on how the city is preparing from our excellent colleagues at California Climate.
| | ON THE AGENDA | | FLOOR SESH — The state Senate and Assembly will convene floor sessions at 9 a.m.
| | | | DON’T MISS AN IMPORTANT TALK ON ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS IN CA: Join POLITICO on March 19 to dive into the challenges of affordable prescription drugs accessibility across the state. While Washington continues to debate legislative action, POLITICO will explore the challenges unique to California, along with the potential pitfalls and solutions the CA Legislature must examine to address prescription drug affordability for its constituents. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | TOP TALKERS | | — Your Los Angeles taxi could arrive driverless starting today. (Los Angeles Times) — Elon Musk pulled his sponsorship for CNN’s Don Lemon’s podcast after headlining its debut episode, when Lemon grilled him with tough questions. (Los Angeles Times) — TikTok is competing with Meta for more than just users. The social media giant is creeping into the company’s real estate. (San Francisco Chronicle) — SoCalGas lost steam after UC Irvine students protested a plan to use hydrogen gas on campus. Now it's shifting operations to a small farming town near Fresno. (The Orange County Register) — A study investigating mental health care in California prisons has stalled. The reasons are shrouded in secrecy. (The Sacramento Bee)
| | | | A message from California Resources Corporation: California Resources Corporation (CRC) provides innovative solutions to reduce emissions while powering California's communities with reliable local energy. CRC is committed to our net zero future and helping California reach carbon neutrality by 2045. CRC’s 2045 Full-Scope Net Zero Goal for Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions places us among a select few industry peers to include scope 3 emissions in their Net Zero goal.
CRC’s carbon management business, Carbon TerraVault, will provide services that offer immediate decarbonization benefits and long-term solutions to help California mitigate climate change. These solutions will enable the capture and permanent storage of carbon dioxide, helping deliver deep emissions reductions in California and beyond.
Get The Facts on CRC's Carbon TerraVault | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | SPOTTED: STORK ALERT — Rep. Josh Harder and his wife, Pam Harder (a principal at the workforce-development firm Guild Education), have welcomed a baby daughter. He posted on X that the baby, Karina Gitanjali Harder, and mom are both doing well. “We are absolutely in love with her already!” he tweeted. Congratulations! Pic here MEDIA MOVES — Susie Neilson is now an investigative reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle. She previously spent three years on the paper’s data team, where she focused on covering criminal justice and housing. — Jamie Novogrod has joined KNBC-KVEA Los Angeles as an assistant news director. Novogrod previously worked for LA Times Studios, per Cision Media Moves. BIRTHDAYS — Allen Gannett …
| | | | In celebration of Earth Month, the USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability and the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, in collaboration with POLITICO, host “Climate Forward 2024: Climate at the Crossroads” on April 4, 2024 at USC. Top experts from politics, government, media, and academia will discuss climate change issues with a focus on finding practical policy and business solutions as well identifying ways to remove political obstacles to implementing those changes. Register to attend in person or virtually. | | | | | CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this subscriber-only service offers, click here. Want to make an impact? POLITICO California has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Golden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
