DRIVING THE DAY — It’s debate day in America. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will face off tonight in Atlanta for the first time in the 2024 election. Gov. Gavin Newsom will be on hand in the spin room. More on that below … THE BUZZ: FIRST IN POLITICO — Former state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, a top contender for governor in 2026, may have violated part of a campaign finance law that she helped to pass as a lawmaker, according to a former watchdog. As POLITICO’s Christopher Cadelago reports today, Atkins paid $22,500 in campaign funds to a company owned by her spouse — an alleged violation of California law. Atkins said the money was for a trip to Vienna, Austria, in 2022 to study the city’s social housing model. But the law bars officeholders from using campaign funds for personal reasons such as giving to a spouse or domestic partner, experts told Chris. In this case, Atkins made the payment to Global Policy Leadership Academy, a consulting company owned by her spouse, Jennifer LeSar. Ann Ravel, former chair for both the Federal Election Commission and California’s Fair Political Practices Commission, told POLITICO that a payment of that size wasn’t legal. She said any money candidates spend from campaign funds, must be reasonably — and directly — related to a political, legislative or governmental purpose. “This is not the case with the Global Policy Leadership Academy,” Ravel told Chris after reviewing Atkins' payment. Evan Westrup, a spokesperson for Atkins’ campaign, defended her in a statement, asserting that LeSar didn’t receive any direct compensation from the payment for the Vienna seminar. He said the $22,500 payment covered seminar expenses for Atkins and two staffers, including: transportation, lodging, meals, meeting space and programming costs. He said the seminar “focused on providing leaders, policymakers, and practitioners with deep insight into proven international models and approaches for confronting the housing and homelessness crisis.” He added: “The Senator remains committed to avoiding any conflicts — or even the perception of a conflict — and as such, requested a full review of this matter by her attorneys, who concluded that the statute cited … does not apply.” Atkins isn't the only contender to face scrutiny over their finances as competition heats up in the already crowded for the 2026 governor’s race, more than two years ahead of time — an indicator of how competitive the Democratic field to replace Newsom is expected to become. State Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is considering running, recently said he would return contributions, totaling $4,000, from two attorneys who were directly involved in litigation their firms pursued on behalf of Lyft and Uber’s challenge to the state’s gig-worker law. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra spent more than $130,000 on “campaign consultants” over the last year — and an attorney at the Campaign Legal Center questioned an assertion from Becerra’s camp that the $10,000-a-month expense was truly for administrative work. And opponents are already whispering that Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis’ move to launch a pro-Biden Super PAC, which is expected to spend millions this year, is merely foreshadowing how her wealthy family could flood the race with money. But given the importance of housing in the state, Atkins’ headaches related to her spouse’s affordable housing work could worsen. GOOD MORNING. Happy Thursday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. You can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? On his way to Atlanta for the Trump-Biden debate.
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