THE BUZZ: Love him or hate him, former President Donald Trump still matters. While many Republicans across the country are vying for his endorsement, hoping a blessing from Mar-a-Lago is enough to propel them to victory, candidates in California are taking a different tack — distancing themselves from Trump in a move that could ingratiate them with a voter base that largely reviles the former president and hasn't elected a Republican to statewide office in more than 15 years. Republican attorney general candidate Nathan Hochman told Playbook on Tuesday that he didn't vote for any presidential candidate in 2016 or 2020, but offered little reasoning as to why. He said he wasn't prepared to vote for anyone based on the "totality of the circumstances," so he left it blank. It's a tricky balance for Republicans in ultra-blue California. A pro-Trump candidate has little to no chance winning statewide in a general election, but rebuking the former president too early can put a candidate at risk of losing the primary election to another conservative. Even those who do make it to the top-two ballot want to be careful not to alienate the state's 5.2 million Republican voters. That thinking, of course, doesn't apply to every race in the state, like in CA-03, where Republicans outnumber Democrats and Trump's endorsement helped Assemblymember Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) beat out Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones in June. Such a revelation about his voting record could've injured Hochman in the primary, where he narrowly won second place over Trump loyalist Eric Early by a margin of just 115,000 votes. Now, faced with a well-funded Democratic incumbent, Hochman wants to head off any efforts from Attorney General Rob Bonta's campaign to portray him as a Trump surrogate. "I believe [Bonta's] going to use the Donald Trump issue and other issues to divert voters' attention away from what should be the central issue of safety and security," Hochman said. A public condemnation from candidates on the right could make it harder for their Democratic opponents to paint them as radical Republicans peddling Trump's same polarizing agenda — a strategy successfully employed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year in the recall campaign. Lanhee Chen , the party's endorsee for state controller, offered similar sentiments to CalMatters last week, saying he was concerned about the revelations coming out of Jan. 6 select committee hearings. Chen, a long time policy wonk for former Republican presidential candidate and current Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, told the outlet he wrote Romney's name in on his 2016 ballot and left it blank in 2020. Republican gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) also wants voters to know he's "not a crazy Republican," as he told the Associated Press yesterday, "I'm a reasonable person." Dahle also told the AP he voted for Trump and describes himself as "pro-life." It's not unusual for California Republicans to moderate themselves when running statewide. With an electorate that is mostly Democrats and no-party-preference voters, GOP candidates need to win independents and some liberal voters to have "any prayer at all," Republican consultant Rob Stutzman said. "It's the Republican blue state profile," he added. "You're going to be moderately liberal on social issues if you're going to have any type of opportunity." ABORTION RIGHTS: We can expect a similar strategy to play out with respect to abortion rights, an issue that has the potential to drive Democratic voters to the polls this November, especially with a state Constitutional amendment on the ballot. Chen, after some significant pressure from Democratic opponent Malia Cohen, told CalMatters he supports "women's reproductive freedom," including abortions. Hochman, too, describes himself as having always been "pro-choice," and said he would enforce California's laws protecting abortion and reproductive rights. Hochman said he supports State Constitutional Amendment 10, which would "prohibit the state from denying or interfering with an individual's reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives." But there is some concern that, the way it's written, SCA 10 would go beyond the state's current law, which allows abortion in all cases up to the point of viability (about 24 weeks) and afterward only in cases where the mother's life or health is threatened. "If it goes beyond that," Hochman said. "I would have to understand exactly what it would be doing to change those laws." BUENOS DÍAS, good Wednesday morning. It's deadline day for opponents of Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, who will be submitting signatures to try and qualify a recall election. Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up: jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte. QUOTE OF THE DAY: Newsom "might as well light a pile of cash on fire." Dave Abrams, spokesperson for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, following Newsom's ad in the Sunshine State, via Business Insider. TWEET OF THE DAY: California Labor Federation's Lorena Gonzalez @LorenaSGonzales on the string of recent SCOTUS rulings: "Maybe if we hadn't been so damn polite & smart & reasonable, we wouldn't be facing the never ending losing battle we face today. I want bold electeds who stick by their progressive values & fight for the common good. We can still save our Country. Stop clutching your pearls." WHERE'S GAVIN? Out of state (apparently in Montana) with his family, leaving Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis in charge.
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