A strategy sesh in LA

Jan 31, 2025

Presented by California Resources Corporation / Carbon TerraVault

People walk on the campus of the University of Southern California.

People walk on the campus of the University of Southern California (USC) on March 21, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. | Mario Tama/Getty Images

THE BUZZ: A NEW BLUEPRINT — Democratic strategists openly struggled with how to counter President Donald Trump during his second term and split on which of their party’s missteps returned him to the White House in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Campaign alumni of former Vice President Kamala Harris and Presidents Joe Biden and Bill Clinton debated how to strengthen the party’s messaging, particularly on economics, at the Warschaw Conference on Practical Politics co-hosted by POLITICO and the University of Southern California.

What went wrong?

Harris’ “message had no edge,” said the legendary consultant Bob Shrum.

Panelists of various ideological stripes agreed that the campaign had not demonstrated to enough voters how Harris’ policies would affect them, though some also blamed the messenger.

“We played our seventh-string quarterback,” the storied Democratic political consultant James Carville said of the decision to run Harris without an open primary after Biden’s late exit from the race. ”Joe Biden stands over this disaster like a colossus.”

He met disagreement from another generation of consultants.

Harris was “the most qualified” person to run in Biden’s stead, argued Democratic strategist Carissa Smith, who worked on Biden’s 2020 campaign and as a senior adviser in his White House. But the vice president inherited Biden’s campaign operation, which was built on messaging “for a candidate that doesn't look like her.”

Carville also stood by a remark he made last spring when he said “there are too many preachy females” in the Democratic Party, while Trump’s campaign courted the so-called Bro Vote. “I was right.”

Countering Trump and looking forward

Democratic strategists urged elected officials and campaigns to be more selective in choosing when to push back against Trump. Their decisions could control their ability to cut into Trump’s popularity and bolster candidates down the ballot in the midterms.

“There are four areas where I think Trump is overreaching, making mistakes that we have to pounce on now,” said Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg:

1. “The savage attack on our government,” including programs in the states.

2. Immigration. “You're going to find this out in California very quickly. The disruption that's going to come, the immorality of deporting huge numbers of women and children, legal immigrants.”

3. “The savage attack on health care,” including federal support for vaccinations and response to the avian flu.

4. The economy.

Who will be the Democratic nominee in 2028?

Fox 11 Los Angeles anchor Elex Michaelson asked four panelists, and all but one answered.

— Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, according to California GOP Chair Jessica Millan Patterson and Betsy Fischer Martin, from the Women & Politics Institute at American University.

— Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Republican pollster Ed Goeas predicted.

— And POLITICO's Christopher Cadelago pleaded the 5th.

CONGRATULATIONS: Shrum is retiring from his position as director of USC’s Center for the Political Future this year. We wish him all the best.

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WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

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California's carbon capture future is here! With federal approval of the Golden State's first Carbon Capture and Storage project — led by California Resources Corporation (CRC) — our state is at the forefront. While other companies give up on California, CRC is eager to partner with Governor Newsom to meet California's climate goals. Approval of CCS in Kern County is an historic opportunity to lead on climate, while creating good-paying clean energy jobs. Let's get to work. Learn more.

CAMPAIGN YEAR(S)

Ada Briceño speaks at a press conference.

Ada Briceño, then the co-president of her UNITE HERE local, speaks at a press conference in support of the 'Justice for Renters Act,' a 2024 statewide ballot initiative that would have removed California's rent control ban. | Gary Kazanjian/AP

SMOOTHER OPERATOR — Ada Briceño worked to elect Democrats as a hotel union boss and chair of the Orange County party. Now, she’s deploying decades of campaign experience toward a candidacy of her own — for state Legislature in 2026.

She was born in Nicaragua and moved to California with her family when she was 7. Briceño became a hotel desk clerk at 18 and quickly rose through the ranks of UNITE HERE Local 11, eventually becoming co-president.

She is running to replace term-limited Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva for a relatively safe Democratic seat. Yet Briceño — like many Democrats seeking to appeal to moderate voters after the November election — heavily emphasized affordability issues in one of her first interviews as a candidate.

Here are excerpts from her conversation with Playbook, edited for length and clarity:

You’re switching sides — from a union leader and party operative who helped elect Democrats — to a candidate yourself. Why?

I’ve represented working families for over 33 years, more than half my life. And it's the same thing people are feeling: the economy, it's the pocketbook, the fact that folks in the district can't pay their bills. It's hard to keep up with the rent increases, the food prices. Frankly, people need to live where they work. And they don’t need to survive; they need to thrive, and that's exactly why I want to go into the Legislature. We need to change the trajectory of where things are going. We've got to figure out how to deal with our housing crisis, and my life experience puts me in a perfect spot to help move forward.

You've been working with Unite Here for years, overseeing hotel strikes and other pivotal inflection points for the union. Has there been anything you think Sacramento could be doing better to buttress the labor movement?

Every day I get to stand up against large employers, alongside these dishwashers and room attendants who want better. And they've taught me, frankly, a lot, and it's their voices and the voices of folks in the district that I want to bring along with me.

You'd be coming in with a couple of years left in Trump's term. I'm curious how you see yourself responding to his White House, how confrontational you think Sacramento should be to him.

It really depends on how we see him move forward. If we see that he attacks issues that are important to immigrants and LGBTQ folks and our federal programs, then we should fight back. But if he comes back with reasonable and fair methods of moving things forward, then we should be open.

Is there any elected official or party member in California that you're especially close to or that you model yourself after?

I feel particularly proud of the work that [Sen.] Alex Padilla has done as a Latino representing California. But there's just so many others.

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CASH DASH

MA MONEY — Fiona Ma’s campaign for lieutenant governor raked in $1.6 million last year, ending 2024 with $4.3 million cash on hand. Her camp said Ma’s haul far exceeds that of “any rival for the post.” Ma, currently state treasurer, is running for the state’s second highest office in 2026, when Lt. Gov Eleni Kounalakis is termed out (and running to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom).

ON THE HILL

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: FAKE FRAUD — Democratic Reps. David Min and Derek Tran have sent a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson protesting his comments baselessly implying that voter fraud tipped California’s congressional elections.

“It is highly disturbing to hear you spout baseless conspiracy theories, undermining Americans’ faith and confidence not only in our elections but also in the legitimacy of our standing as members of Congress,” Min and Tran wrote in the letter, which they exclusively shared with Playbook.

The freshman representatives, both of whom narrowly won Orange County swing districts, wrote in response to Johnson, who has said he’s open to conditioning wildfire relief for Los Angelenos on California reforming its voter-ID laws (a prospect Trump has floated). Johnson told reporters that many voters “do not want to subsidize crazy California leftist policies that are dangerous for people.”

Min and Tran said the notion of placing conditions on FEMA disaster funding is unprecedented. They noted that California has often helped other states facing natural disasters with no conditions attached, adding, “This is what it means to be American.”

A message California Resources Corporation / Carbon TerraVault:

CLIMATE AND ENERGY

AFFORDABILITY AVALANCHE: It's still too soon to say how the costs from the Los Angeles wildfires this month will hit utility bills. But a Public Utilities Commission vote Thursday to let Southern California Edison charge ratepayers for costs from the 2017 Thomas fire has lawmakers worried. Read about what the vote could mean for future fires in last night's California Climate.

Top Talkers

DEPORTATION DILEMMA — State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones took to social media to celebrate yesterday’s delay of what he called “Newsom’s $50 million slush fund to sue Trump.”

The remarks come after concern arose over who would be able to access $25 million in legal aid to avoid deportation.

“Turns out using taxpayer funds to shield heinous violent criminals from deportation isn’t a popular idea,” he wrote on X.

NOT GOING ANYWHERE — Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she will serve out the remainder of her term in Congress. “I don’t read all that stuff. I don’t read it. No, I will honor my responsibilities to my constituents. I love being in Congress,” she said, per KQED’s Scott Shafer.

AMERICA’S AIRPORT — Rep. Norma Torres from California’s Inland Empire noted the significance of the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after it saw the worst air disaster in a generation on Wednesday night.

“It’s the place where citizens all over the country come to lobby their members of Congress, their U.S. senators on issues of extreme importance to them,” Torres told POLITICO.

This is the reason Congress has intervened in the airport’s operations over the years. For example, Congress dictates how many flights can come in and out of the airport and how far they can fly.

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AROUND THE STATE

— New sensor data shows that high-voltage power lines faulted in Altadena just moments before flames erupted below transmission towers. (The New York Times)

— Santa Ana Unified’s board will vote later this week on a layoff package that would eliminate 286 employees amid a $180 million deficit. (The Orange County Register)

— The San Carlos Airport will have no air traffic controllers starting on Saturday after the FAA changed their contracts to a firm with lower pay. (San Francisco Chronicle)

— compiled by Nicole Norman

PLAYBOOKERS

SPOTTED: RAGIN’ CAJUN — James Carville was seen lapping the USC hotel in a Louisiana State University sweater and shorts, paired with high socks.

LITTLE SAIGON IN THE HOUSE — Tran, the first Vietnamese-American to represent California in Congress, celebrated Vietnamese Lunar New Year on the floor of the House this week. He said Tết, the Vietnamese name for the holiday, is a special occasion to “reflect on the past, embrace new beginnings and to eat a lot of really good food.” As he spoke, Tran wore a blue-and-white áo dài, a traditional tunic.

PEOPLE MOVES — Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) promoted Benjamin Burnett to legislative director. Burnett is a Swalwell veteran who joined his office in 2019 and was previously his national security adviser.

— Anneliese Slamowitz is now a legislative assistant for Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.). She previously was a legislative aide for Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.).

BIRTHDAYS — Megan Ellison … strategist Dane Strother … strategist Dylan Byers … POLITICO’s Michael Doyle … Kate Hansen … Kelly Calkin … Fred Karger (favorite cake: chocolate cupcake from Magnolia Bakery)

BELATED B-DAY WISHES — (was Thursday): Jeffrey Stone

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