THE BUZZ: BIG SELF-FUNDER — There's a lot of things you might do after winning $266 million in the California lottery: ski in Tahoe every morning for a season, sail around the world in a schooner, collect classic muscle cars and fine art. Or you could run for Congress three times in six years. Meet Gil Cisneros, the man doing just that. Gisneros, a former Democratic representative and Pentagon official, is asking voters in the San Gabriel Valley to send him back to Congress. And he’s again dipping into his Mega Millions lottery jackpot to compete in an intraparty battle to succeed Rep. Grace Napolitano in the San Gabriel Valley, a safe Democratic seat. He has already loaned himself nearly $2.4 million this cycle — self-funding more than 90 percent of the money his campaign has spent. Cisneros faces two major Democratic opponents in the crowded March 5 primary, Bob Archuleta and Susan Rubio, who represent the area in the state Senate. Cisneros has spent more of his own money on the race than Archuleta and Rubio have raised from their donors combined (like two times as much). At the same time, Cisneros is trying to distinguish himself as the most progressive and union-friendly candidate in the race, touting endorsements from labor icons like Dolores Huerta and Hilda Solis. That might seem paradoxical for someone with a nine-figure fortune, as his opponents like to point out, but Cisneros said his money means that he can’t be bought. “I’m not beholden to special interests,” Cisneros told Playbook during a recent interview at his campaign office in a strip mall in Covina, a largely blue-collar suburb in the district, later adding: "I don't see this as a career." At least one of his opponents is trying to cast Cisneros' extraordinary wealth in a harsher light, saying he wouldn't be a serious contender without it. Archuleta noted that he, by contrast, has served decades in public office as a lawmaker and former mayor and councilmember in Pico Rivera. “That’s what this job calls for, life experience,” he said. Before Cisneros sat down for the interview, the candidate — dressed in a baggy golf shirt and jeans and driving a minivan (which he uses to haul around his school-aged twin boys) — knocked on voters’ doors. He talked about his family’s working class, Mexican American roots in the Los Angeles area and his early career as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Cisneros’ path to notoriety and public office was — by his own admission — a matter of pure luck. In 2010, he purchased a winning lottery ticket at a restaurant in Pico Rivera. He was between jobs at the time and had been arguing with his wife over where to order takeout that night. She wanted KFC. He wanted Mexican. They settled on a barbecue joint. His odds-defying moment led Cisneros to spend much of the next 13 years in philanthropy and politics. He and his wife, Jacki Cisneros, started a foundation to help young people from working-class and military-family backgrounds go to college. Cisneros won his first House race in 2018, when he ran as a political outsider and helped Democrats flip an Orange County-centric district blue. He served one term before losing reelection in 2020 to GOP Rep. Young Kim. President Joe Biden then tapped him for a Defense Department post, where he oversaw the military’s personnel and readiness as well as diversity and inclusion efforts — a job that made him the target of Republicans’ complaints about a “woke” agenda related to Pentagon policies on abortion and reproductive care. Now, Cisneros is running for Congress a third time. But rather than wage an uphill battle in a purple district, he’s vying for the CA-31 seat in the east Los Angeles suburbs — a once-in-a-generation opening. So, why does he keep putting himself through the campaign wringer and spending millions of his own money in the process? Cisneros said he’s been motivated by concern about the direction of the country amid the MAGA wave and Trump’s efforts to overturn the last election. He also said he’s eager to take on the Republican Party that tried to malign his record at the Pentagon. In essence, he's trading a life of White-Lotus level luxury for a chance to experience Capitol Hill gridlock firsthand and endure weekly six-hour flights from the West Coast. To each their own! GOOD MORNING. Happy Friday. 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 | 
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