FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — CHEN TAKES A BEAT: One of California's more visible Republican candidates is taking his name out of contention for 2024. Lanhee Chen, a prominent GOP policy adviser and former candidate for state controller, today is launching the Golden State Watchdog PAC, a hybrid state and federal committee that he'll use to promote ideas and support candidates that he hopes will "help to fix California." “I see this vehicle as an opportunity for me to stay engaged and involved on the political side,” Chen told us. “There’s not really an office this cycle that I felt strongly compelled to run for.” It's not exactly a fundraising vehicle — though Chen could certainly use it to spend the several thousand dollars he has left in his controller committee — but rather a way to maintain relevance in a challenging election cycle. California Republicans are almost always at a disadvantage in statewide races and the Democratic turnout is expected to be even higher in a presidential election year. Chen says, rather than spending time running for office himself, he wants to lend his voice and expertise to areas where it will matter. The races where Republicans, including Chen, could have a shot at moving the needle in 2024 are most likely in competitive congressional districts — like Katie Porter's purple Orange County seat. But don't count out Chen for good — especially if conditions improve for Republicans after this cycle. He told us he's still open to running at some point. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — MA’S MONEY: California State Treasurer Fiona Ma raised $1 million in the last quarter for her bid for lieutenant governor. Combined with funds from other accounts, Ma has a total of $3.7 million in her war chest, according to her campaign. Ma had been planning to run for governor in 2026, but pivoted to LG as that field started to crowd. Several others have parked money in LG accounts — something that happens every cycle. Her nearly $4 million appears to give her a head-start for an office with little in the way of political power or responsibility but that’s historically been a stepping-stone to the governorship. Senate President Pro Tem Toni G. Atkins had $1.2 million tucked away for lieutenant governor at the end of 2022, and nodded to that committee just last week when she signed some bills in Newsom’s absence, though she hasn’t committed to running. — ROLLINS MONEY: Democratic congressional challenger Will Rollins will report raising over $875,000 in the six weeks since announcing his rematch with GOP Rep. Ken Calvert, dean of the California Republican delegation. Rollins’ haul is the largest in an off-year for a challenger’s first quarter, according to his campaign. HISTORY MARKER — The grieving father who helped enact one of California’s most consequential sentencing laws died on Sunday at 79, leaving behind a complicated legacy that continues to shape state politics today. Mike Reynolds was the driving force behind California’s 1994 Three-Strikes law, which targeted repeat offenders by mandating longer sentences for people with two prior convictions. Reynolds became a champion for the law after his daughter, Kimber, was shot and killed in an attempted robbery in 1992. Dan Morain, who covered the evolution of the law for the Los Angeles Times and has followed it through numerous other outlets, spoke often with Reynolds — a wedding photographer from Fresno. “Mike Reynolds sponsored a measure in the Legislature and on the ballot that changed how California sentenced criminals, and that remained in effect for 15 years,” Morain said. “This was by far the harshest three strikes laws of any state in the nation.” The law has long been the subject of outrage among criminal justice reform advocates who say it has led to unwarranted life sentences for minor crimes and worsened mass incarceration. Voters amended the law in 2012 to only apply to serious or violent felonies. Despite the criticism, Morain said Reynolds never acknowledged any unintended consequences: “They were fully intended, as far as he was concerned,” Morain said. “Never, in my experience, did he ever have any second thoughts. He was a grieving father,” he added.
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