Gavin Newsom’s top policy adviser is leaving his administration

Jason Elliott, the closest and longest-serving aide in Newsom’s office, will leave the administration in late June, he told POLITICO.

politico.com/news/2024/05/0…

Puppies over politics...any day!

The Milken Institute offered a puppy petting station in between these heavy meetings about world affairs.

I checked it out with POLITICO California's Melanie Mason and it was definitely the highlight of the day!

The 2016 LAT investigation that I led revealed the rampant confusion of voters who joined the AIP. And should we mention that RFK, Jr. will be on CA’s ballot via a party founded nationally by the segregationist governor his father stared down in a famous 1963 meeting…!

Spoiler: it’s great and builds on Mike’s many years of smart analysis on Latino voters

News: Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is weighing his exit from the Biden administration — likely after the November election — to run for California governor in 2026.

w/ Dustin Gardiner Adam Cancryn

politico.com/news/2024/04/0…

Bay Area! Here we come!

Excited to take part in the first KQED #ReframeFestival - live on April 20th.

Speakers include Ro Khanna Mira Murati Tamara Rojo Diez Melanie Mason Scott Shafer Amy Eilberg
and more to come...

kqed.org/pressroom/1226…

NEWS: Katie Porter says she'll return to teaching law at UC Irvine after she leaves Congress in January 2025.

She hasn't ruled out a future political run but 'hasn't thought about' other offices she could pursue.

Full Interview: youtube.com/watch?v=1r1CAH…

📣📣Calling all San Francisco policy wonks:

POLITICO health care reporter Rachel Bluth is hosting a post-mortem analysis on the razor-thin victory for Prop 1, Gavin Newsom’s mental-health reform initiative

Join us 6PM Tuesday at Manny’s. REGISTER HERE: eventbrite.com/e/what-happene…

NEW: With Gavin Newsom signature initiative on a razor's edge, the gov has turned to an unusual strategy: asking volunteers to help fix invalid ballots

politico.com/news/2024/03/1…

Newsom postpones state address amid Prop 1 uncertainty politi.co/4ckZshu via Christopher Cadelago

The leading candidates for California’s open Senate seat are finding themselves talking a lot about Israel, Palestine, and the war in Gaza. That's happening in races across the country.

Melanie Mason and Ross Barkan explain. open.spotify.com/episode/6yBi0k…

Adam Schiff, if he wins California’s Senate race, is asked if he’ll serve the full, six-year term.

“Yes, of course,” he said.

via Melanie Mason

NEWS - AIPAC goes big in 2024.

- telling donors they'll spend $100M, per 3 sources
- super PAC monitoring 15-20 primaries
- J Street to focus $10M program on general, *not* on primaries
- progs focus on PR battle of GOP donors to AIPAC

w/ Melanie Mason

politico.com/news/2024/03/0…

NPR's @DaraKerr follows a hunch and reveals a tech billionaire's vast acquisition of land in Hawaii. He make clear with some menace that he was tracking her and had personal information about her family.

That tech mogul is Time magazine owner Marc Benioff.

Ugh. Hate to be that guy, but we’ve written extensively above this ad campaign.

Good morning!

ICYMI: The most vulnerable Senate Democrat isn’t just facing Republicans.

⁦Senator Josh Newman⁩ is also facing four sudden Dem foes, all funded by a single union — from filing fees to a $300K+ ad blitz.

On an audacious labor power play:
politico.com/newsletters/ca…

Absolutely essential reading

🚨News: I am now POLITICO’s states congressional correspondent!

I will be covering the California, New York, Florida, New Jersey and Massachusetts delegations on Capitol Hill.

From these delegations? Let’s grab coffee — and add me to your press lists: mmccarthyPOLITICO.com😁

Democrats are frantically plowing cash into a Central Valley House race to avoid a nightmare lockout — and some blame liberal ally EMILYs List for the whole mess. Great Lara Korte story: politico.com/news/2024/02/1…

we wrote yesterday about ad spending in California’s U.S. Senate race.

With the Fairshake super PAC funded by crypto billionaires coming in against Katie Porter, we’re likely looking at a 3-to-1 spending advantage for Adam Schiff by March 5. Maybe more …

That includes Schiff +