| | | | |  | | By Christopher Cadelago, Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner | | Presented by |  | | | |  Conservative commentator Steve Hilton is mulling a run for California governor in 2026, when Gavin Newsom is termed out. | Damian Dovarganes/AP | THE BUZZ: 2026 WATCH — Conservative commentator Steve Hilton is seriously considering a run for governor, and already piquing the interests of Silicon Valley titans. Three people in close touch with him told POLITICO’s Christopher Cadelago that Hilton, the former Fox News host and policy adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, is mulling a run to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom in two years. While Hilton and his team did not comment when asked about the story, several prominent political figures in the state conveyed that the Silicon Valley entrepreneur, who has been increasing his public appearances and focus on California public policy, is already deep in discussions about a possible run as a Republican. “He is thinking very seriously about running for governor and he is doing it in a very organized way,” said Jim Brulte, former California Republican Party chairman and GOP leader of the state Senate. “I know he’s talking to a lot of the right people because I have heard from a lot of the right people that he’s talking to them.” His candidacy would amount to a major test of voters’ appetites to challenge Democratic dogma and conventional wisdom in one of the nation’s biggest, bluest states. It also could help resolve whether deteriorating conditions on the ground — pockets of high crime, homelessness and soaring cost of living — will precipitate a fulsome conversation about alternative leadership that hasn’t happened in decades. Word of Hilton’s interest has already caught the attention of leaders in Silicon Valley, including figures pining for a political disruptor. In an interview, Chamath Palihapitiya, the billionaire tech venture capitalist who has increasingly waded into national and state politics, said Hilton’s emergence could jump-start conversations around a range of issues plaguing California. “He is a no-BS person who cuts to the heart of issues no matter how uncomfortable the truth is,” Palihapitiya told Chris, calling Hilton “an extremely precise ‘first principles’ thinker,” a phrase used to describe people who can reverse-engineer solutions to complex problems. “I think that that could be really refreshing at the right moment in California.” Read more from Chris here. GOOD MORNING. Happy Tuesday. 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? Nothing official announced.
| | | | A message from Amazon:   | | | |  | FOR GOOD MEASURE | | |  A new committee, Californians United to Oppose Proposition 36, is launching to fight prosecutors' ballot measure that would increase prison sentences. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: JOINING FORCES — The No on Proposition 36 campaign is getting some reinforcements with the addition of an allied ballot measure committee that will emphasize the initiative’s potential negative impacts on certain communities. Californians United to Oppose Proposition 36 shared the announcement with Playbook, saying its coalition of criminal justice reform groups will focus on organizing those who stand to be most harmed by the ballot measure. “It’s California’s vibrant, multicultural, and historically marginalized communities that will be hurt most by Proposition 36,” the coalition said in a release shared with Playbook. “That’s why our committee has formed today — to link arms with our neighbors and collectively refuse to go backward, refuse to refill our prisons, and refuse to waste billions of taxpayer dollars.” Californians United blames Prop 36 on “big corporations and the prison lobby,” which it says “are putting their profits over the health of California’s communities.” The Ella Baker Center Action fund is leading the group, which includes Initiate Justice Action, the California Black Power Network and the Sister Warriors Action Fund. ACLU of Northern California and Vera Institute of Justice are supporting the coalition. The group will join the existing Committee to Protect Public Safety to combat Prop 36. Lenore Anderson, a spokesperson for that committee, welcomed the new coalition. She said in a release shared with Playbook that the group’s addition will “allow us to reach millions of Californians who demand change, but want better than a one-size-fits all approach to public safety.” The Yes on Prop 36 side also recently acquired the support of a second coalition. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and a group of local Democratic leaders formed their own committee to back the ballot measure, saying their on-the-ground view of crime has led them to back more stringent consequences. — Lindsey Holden
| | | | Follow ongoing storylines on how the election will shape policy debates beyond 2024. Our nonpartisan insights prepared our subscribers to navigate a changed political landscape. Learn more about POLITICO Pro. | | | | | | | THE SCOOP | | |  Rep. Robert Garcia at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last week. | David Hume Kennerly for POLITICO | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: YIMBYS ON THE HILL — Rep. Robert Garcia told Playbook he plans to launch the first ever pro-housing Yes in My Backyard caucus in Congress this year — another example of how the movement that started in San Francisco has gone national. Garcia said his plans for the caucus, which he exclusively shared with Playbook, are meant to help Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris take on America’s housing shortage by spurring the construction of three million affordable homes if she’s elected. “There’s a real movement happening around a pro-housing agenda,” said Garcia, one of the most outspoken YIMBYs on Capitol Hill. “It’s a huge way of bringing in all types of new voters, younger people as well.” Garcia, the former mayor of Long Beach, has championed legislation that would make it easier to build housing in urban areas by reducing minimum parking requirements. He said Congress needs to get more ambitious with proposals to speed up housing production, including by offering more financial incentives for states and local governments that welcome new construction. Other likely caucus allies include Hawaii Sen. Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost.
| | | | A message from Amazon:   | | | | | CAMPAIGN YEAR | | | 
| ANOTHER SCOOP: ROLLINS' NEW PITCH — Democrat Will Rollins will unveil a new TV ad today that aims to cast his career in a bipartisan light. The ad, which his campaign exclusively shared with Playbook, notes Rollins previously worked as an adviser to former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and, later, as a federal prosecutor who fought the Sinaloa Cartel over drug trafficking at the southern border. “In Congress, I want to stop corruption in both parties with term limits and a ban on stock trading,” Rollins states in the ad, which his team said is part of a seven-figure buy in the Palm Springs and Los Angeles media markets. The line is a critique of his Republican opponent, longtime Rep. Ken Calvert, who was first elected in 1992 and whom Rollins has attacked as a career politician who’s used his seat to enrich himself.
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Democratic Assemblymember Evan Low. | Phillip Faraone/Getty Images | Getty Images | RAVEL'S COMPLAINT — A complaint filed with the Federal Elections Commission accuses candidate Evan Low, a state assemblymember, of illegally using a nonprofit’s email list to promote his campaign for an open House seat in Silicon Valley. Ann Ravel, a former chair of both the FEC and California’s Fair Political Practices Commission, filed the complaint over the weekend. She pointed to a February email from Low’s campaign, promoting his pro-choice record. The email included multiple links with the website URL of Stand With Asian Americans — a 501(c)3 non-profit that cannot engage in campaigns due to its tax-exempt status. Ravel said the evidence shows that Low used the group’s email list or server, which she suggested amounts to illegal activity for the nonprofit and an unreported campaign contribution. She is supporting Low’s opponent, former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, in the bitter Dem-on-Dem race to fill the seat of retiring Rep. Anna Eshoo. Ravel contributed $250 to Liccardo’s campaign this year, and her endorsement is listed on his website. Lam Nyugen, a spokesperson for Low, denied any wrongdoing in a statement, saying, “Sam Liccardo is once again deploying his supporters to make false accusations against our campaign and distract from his own shady conduct.” Nyugen said the email linked to the nonprofit’s website because a volunteer used the “wrong hyperlink” when they created the email. Low’s camp was also quick to cast Ravel’s complaint as political and noted her support for Liccardo. Ravel bristled at the Low camp’s response, saying, “It isn’t because I was a supporter of Sam Liccardo at all. It has to do with my concern about undisclosed money in politics.”
| | | | DON’T MISS OUR AI & TECH SUMMIT: Join POLITICO’s AI & Tech Summit for exclusive interviews and conversations with senior tech leaders, lawmakers, officials and stakeholders about where the rising energy around global competition — and the sense of potential around AI and restoring American tech knowhow — is driving tech policy and investment. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | |  GOP Rep. Michelle Steel. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo | | AT ARM’S LENGTH — GOP Rep. Michelle Steel appears to be distancing herself from longtime ally Andrew Do, an Orange County supervisor who is facing calls to resign amid a federal probe related to reports that he directed millions of taxpayer dollars to a nonprofit run by his daughter. Do was previously listed among Steel’s endorsements on her campaign website, but as of Monday had removed his name from the roster, Playbook confirmed. Lance Trover, a spokesperson for her campaign, said in a statement that “public officials must be held accountable for their actions, but like any other American are entitled to due process of the law.” Steel is fighting a close battle for reelection this year against Democrat Derek Tran, who has been working to tie Steel to Do’s turmoil. “Over the weekend the FBI raided the home of corrupt Michelle Steel’s Campaign Co-Chair, while the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs endorsed Army Veteran Derek Tran to defeat her,” spokesperson Orrin Evans said. “Voters have a clear choice in this election.”
| | STATE CAPITOL | | | | 
Outgoing Assemblymember Luz Rivas. | Rich Pedroncelli for POLITICO | FLOOR DISPATCH — POLITICO’s California bureau is on the ground in the Capitol this week to bring you all the end-of-session action — including things you can’t get from the livestreams. Check back each morning for dispatches from the floors. The Assembly on Monday spent the first half of the day honoring departing lawmakers and staffers, including Assemblymember Luz Rivas, who is all but certain to head to Washington to take over for Rep. Tony Cárdenas at the end of the year. Speaker Pro Tem Jim Wood opened the day on a positive note, acknowledging International Dog Day (no dogs were present, unfortunately) and gently pleading with members to stay close to the chamber throughout this long week, even when things get slow. "There will be times when we are not doing anything, or it appears we're not doing anything. We may actually not be doing anything,” Wood told the chamber. Among the notable bills lawmakers passed Monday were state Sen. Steve Padilla’s proposal to protect child influencers, former Speaker Anthony Rendon’s short-term rentals bill, Assemblymember David Alvarez’s push to require public colleges to hire undocumented students, and legislation by state Sen. Shannon Grove that would fight the “troubled teen” industry — a proposal that brought actress Paris Hilton to the Capitol earlier this year. Senate leader Mike McGuire announced Monday night that he expected the chamber to take up as many as 150 bills tomorrow and up to 200 Wednesday. "Bring sleeping bags," he said. Plus — Was he whipping votes for a tough bill? No, Ash Kalra was dashing around the Assembly floor with an orange paper gift bag, urging his colleagues to draw their number for the fantasy football draft. According to Kalra, the league is bipartisan and bicameral, and last year Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes was the big winner. If everything goes according to plan, they draft their teams tonight.
| | | ON THE AGENDA | | | FLOOR SESH — The Assembly and the Senate convene at 10 a.m. Expect floor sessions all this week as lawmakers scramble to pass bills before Saturday night’s deadline.
| | | CLIMATE AND ENERGY | | | MIDDLE ROAD — California’s hottest transportation debate this year has been how much to spend on roads versus walkways and bike lanes. A bill about to head to Newsom's desk could help answer that question. Read more in last night’s California Climate.
| | TOP TALKERS | | | | 
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. | David Zalubowski/AP | META IN HOT WATER — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he regrets that his company bowed to Biden administration pressure to censor certain content, according to a letter he sent to the House Judiciary Committee. As Lara reported Monday night, Zuckerberg detailed how senior admin officials leaned on the company to censor certain posts about Covid-19. SURPRISE SUPPORT — Elon Musk in an X post today backed state Sen. Scott Wiener’s proposal to require safety testing for large-scale artificial intelligence models, as Lara reported — an unexpected boost, given Musk has frequently attacked Wiener online. Musk’s endorsement puts him at odds with Silicon Valley power players, Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic lawmakers. LOBBYIST SETTLEMENT — The lobbying firm California Advisors LLC, including partner Delaney Hunter and former partner William Gonzalez, have agreed to pay $580,000 in damages and penalties over allegations they fraudulently sought a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan during the pandemic. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced the settlement on Monday, noting the loan program wasn’t open to firms that primarily engage in lobbying. Hunter and Gonzalez both signed the settlement agreement. AIR RAID OFFENSE — Harris is going after former President Donald Trump in a new ad focused on economic issues, including inflation, POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn reports. GRANTS PASS FALLOUT — Long Beach has begun clearing homeless encampments, but city officials aren’t securing a bed for everyone who’s removed, the Los Angeles Times reports.
| | AROUND THE STATE | | — London Breed wants to reform how San Francisco’s government works … six years after she was elected mayor, columnist Joe Eskenazi writes. (Mission Local) — California birth center closures are deeping the state’s maternity health care crisis. — Republican Rep. Michelle Steel is dragging her Democratic challenger Derek Tran for previously representing a man who sued Costco for gender discrimination. The man was fired after three of his female co-workers accused him of sexual assault. (The Orange County Register)
| | | PLAYBOOKERS | | | PEOPLE MOVES — Theo Ellington and Rashad Johnson have joined the firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as policy directors in its Sacramento office, joining its state government relations team. BIRTHDAYS — Rachel Linn Gish of Health Access California … Margot Smith WANT A SHOUT-OUT FEATURED? — Send us a birthday, career move or another special occasion to include in POLITICO’s California Playbook. You can now submit a shout-out using this Google form. CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this subscriber-only service offers, click here. Want to make an impact? POLITICO California has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Golden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Rebecca Haase to find out how: rhaase@politico.com. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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