THE BUZZ: California Republicans are running into a problem — other Republicans. For the first time in a long time, the Republican primary has a chance of actually mattering in California. The state’s 169 delegates are the most of any in the nation, but in the past the primary has been so late in the year that the GOP nominee has been all but decided by the time Republican voters in California cast their ballots. But this year, with a Super Tuesday primary date in March, California Republicans wield an unusual amount of power — and that’s dredging up an unusual amount of conflict. The heightened stakes, combined with post-2020 conspiracy theories about election rigging and transparency, is already creating rifts in the party. Simmering discontent bubbled to the surface over the holiday weekend after far-right internet personality Laura Loomer tweeted out some fiery allegations — claiming party leaders were quietly changing the winner-take-all delegate system in a conspiracy against Donald Trump. Loomer, who has worked for far-right media like Project Veritas and InfoWars, might be remembered for the time she hopped the fence of Nancy Pelosi’s Napa Valley home, or chained herself to Twitter HQ after she was banned (she has since been reinstated). She also ran two unsuccessful bids for Congress in Florida, is notably anti-Muslim, and can be found frequently trolling Ron DeSantis. To put it more bluntly: She’s a “conspiracy nutjob” and “crackpot,” former CA GOP chair Ron Nehring told us. The allegations of nefarious back-room deal making over a relatively minor party procedure were quickly batted down by party chair Jessica Millan-Patterson and RNC Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon, who said the CA GOP is merely trying to come into compliance with RNC rules. The dispute is about as inside baseball as you can get, but it does speak to a wider challenge the party faces as it heads into one of the most consequential elections in modern history. “Some people are suspicious, and I don’t think this was messaged well by the party,” Dhillon told us, referencing the change to the delegate system, which she said led to “rampant conspiracy theories and misunderstanding.” California Republicans’ need to unite is an existential one. If the party can’t fix its rules to comply with the RNC by October, it risks losing half of its delegates and, by extension, its best shot at relevance in over a decade. Changes to the delegate system were set to be decided by the 100 members of the party’s executive committee by the end of this month. But Dhillon is now advocating they settle the matter at the fall convention — where 1,500 delegates can weigh in. Bryan Watkins, the state party’s chief operating officer and executive director, said he’s not worried about procedure as much as he is about timing. The fall convention runs right up against the RNC’s deadline, giving members an 11-hour window to pass a critical bylaw. Watkins said he’s not interested in leaving that up to chance: “I’m a planner,” he said. BUENOS DÍAS, good Thursday morning. Rep. Ami Bera is in Sactown today with Small Business Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman to highlight President Joe Biden’s investments in infrastructure and manufacturing — with stops at Impact Foundry, Tecma Manufacturing, and La Mini Birriera. 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. WHERE’S GAVIN? On vacation — and, apparently, on Threads. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Thanks to our partners in the Legislature, we’re about to embark on a clean construction boom that maximizes the unprecedented funding available from the Biden-Harris Administration.” Gov. Gavin Newsom following the Senate’s final vote on his infrastructure package. | 
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