SCOOPS: McCarthy, House maps and the man behind them

Politico

2 days ago

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: MCCARTHY REEMERGES — Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been working behind the scenes to rally his Republican troops against California Democrats' gerrymandering ballot measure, three people familiar with the campaign's planning tell Playbook.
McCarthy recently told his former home-state congressional delegation that he's aiming to raise $100 million, according to two of the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal planning. Close McCarthy ally Jessica Millan Patterson, former California Republican Party chair, is slated to become chair of the Republican-focused campaign committee, longtime political operative Tom Ross said.
Ross, who helped campaign for California's independent redistricting commission, is helming the nascent campaign against the measure targeting center-left voters — with funding from independent redistricting commission champion Charles Munger Jr. Munger is said to be considering putting upward of $30 million toward the cause, bringing the total war chest from conservative forces against Gov. Gavin Newsom and leading Democrats to something approaching $130 million.
FIRST IN POLITICO: WHO'S UP AND DOWN — Legislative Democrats were briefed again Thursday evening on the proposed new district boundaries. Paul Mitchell presented lawmakers with slides of new maps, which were described as not final but largely settled among members of the state's Democratic congressional delegation, according to a person familiar with the call granted anonymity to describe internal conversations. Also on the call was Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the delegation chair, and Rep. Dave Min, as well as a brief cameo from Democratic House Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar. Lofgren emphasized that the maps were the product of hard work with the legislative leadership and spoke about how some members of Congress were giving up areas they had represented for years for the larger cause. Some Democratic legislators on the call expressed a desire for more data about the proposed changes to the district, the person said. The call took place hours after Melanie and Jeremy B. White scooped a chart breaking down the redrawn congressional map that is set to be released today. State lawmakers had been briefed on the expected partisan tilt of all 52 congressional districts, providing the clearest view yet of which Republican districts they are targeting. The sweeping changes, designed to help Democrats counter President Donald Trump and Texas Republicans' power play, were confirmed by multiple lawmakers and their staffers.
Read more of POLITICO's industry-leading reporting.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: THE WIZARD OF ODD DISTRICTS — Over thirty years ago, the aforementioned Paul Mitchell was an energetic community-college student who smelled of patchouli oil and wore hair so long he could 'tuck it into his back pocket.' Last week, he became the most powerful person in California politics, our Will McCarthy writes in an illuminating profile out this morning.
A student government campaign innovator turned legislative staffer turned political data nerd, Mitchell was tapped this summer by the state's Democratic leaders to engineer Newsom's audacious attempt to match Texas's mid-decade partisan gerrymander of its U.S. House map with one that gives Democrats offsetting gains in California.
Mitchell is one of the rare few with the skills to execute what is now a lost art — using technology to carve California's natural and human geography into politically useful units.
But his maps will likely raise outrage from the left and the right, serving as the progenitors of a hundred-million-dollar political proxy battle between Newsom and Trump. Beneath a high-minded debate about principle and hypocrisy will sit Mitchell's handiwork, the bizarre and distorted lines that could determine control of Congress.
Read the rest of Will's piece on Mitchell.
GOOD MORNING. Happy Mapday. Thanks for waking up with an especially scoopy Playbook this Friday.
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BIG NEWS: On Wednesday, Aug. 27, POLITICO is hosting its inaugural California policy summit. At The California Agenda, some of the state's most prominent political figures including Sen. Alex Padilla, Katie Porter and Xavier Becerra will share the stage with influential voices in tech, energy, housing and other areas to chart the path forward for a state at the forefront of critical policy debates. The live and streamed event is free, but advanced registration is required. Request an invite here.
CAMPAIGN YEAR(S)
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: DRAFT A GOVERNOR — With Kamala Harris out of the picture, the once-sleepy California gubernatorial race is suddenly buzzing. For now, former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter is the early leader in polls, but the race is still wide open.
With politics-watchers from Sacramento to Washington reeling from the uncertainty, we decided to indulge in a little game of fantasy football — or fantasy California governor, if you will. We asked journalists, academics, political operatives and other experts from inside and outside our newsroom who would be their ideal candidate, even if they never would — or even legally could — make a bid in real life.
Don't miss today's Friday read from POLITICO Magazine. Among the hypothetical dark horse names tossed out by our expert panel: Hollywood stars Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal; Attorney General Rob Bonta; former Gov. Jerry Brown; former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown; OpenAI CEO Sam Altman; and the politics-loving head coach of your Golden State Warriors (let's be honest, there's really only one NBA team in this state that matters).
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: HEALTH CARE WARRIOR — Real-life gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, the former Biden Cabinet official, state AG and Congress member, is increasingly focusing on his health care policy resume as he jockeys for attention in the crowded field of actual candidates.
Becerra later today will tout his role in negotiating Medicare's first agreement with pharmaceutical companies to lower the cost of certain prescription drugs when he was Health and Human Services secretary during the Biden administration.
'It's one of the most important steps we've taken as a country to lower the cost of health care,' Becerra said, marking the one-year anniversary of those negotiations.
He added, 'Ten of the most expensive prescription drugs for seniors with cancer, diabetes, heart disease, blood clots and more will now cost them far less out of pocket.'
HOUSING
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: LIKE A PRAYER — California's Department of Housing and Community Development is expected to unveil $144.5 million in federally funded grant awards today — money that will help build affordable housing and provide rental assistance to tenants.
But the grant announcement comes with a warning — the state's news release emphasizes that the program is dependent on ongoing federal funding.
'The awards also highlight the importance of sustained federal funding to deliver much needed housing stability and important resources to those most at need,' Director Gustavo Velasquez said.
In other words, he's praying the Trump administration keeps affordable housing funds flowing. While the feds haven't cut off funding for the program, state officials are anxious about the future.
CLIMATE AND ENERGY
BLUSTERY DAYS — California leaders have been pushing to streamline the state's notoriously byzantine permitting processes for years. But it's not easy to teach an old dog new tricks. Read last night's California Climate to learn why one of the state's hallmark initiatives to speed up renewable energy projects has instead made wind farm developers furious.
Top Talkers
HISTORY REPEATS — Continued immigration raids in the state have shone a spotlight on San Francisco's ICE office and its controversial, decadeslong history with immigrant detention practices, Mission Local reports. An unknown number of people are currently detained in the building, similar to 80 years ago.
LEGACY LOYALTY — Stanford University, in an effort to continue legacy admissions, has declined Cal Grants just three weeks before the state's ban on giving admissions preference to students who are related to alumni or relatives who have given money to the school was set to take effect, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
AROUND THE STATE
— School district officials in San Francisco told teachers, days before the start of classes, that they cannot express political opinions at work. (San Francisco Chronicle)
— Tech giant Oracle America is set to cut more than 188 jobs in the Bay Area, the latest in a series of recent tech layoffs to hit the region. (The Mercury News)
— The California Energy Commission will spend $55 million to expand the construction of fast chargers for electric vehicles across the state. (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Compiled by Juliann Ventura
PLAYBOOKERS
BIRTHDAYS — Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) … Melinda Gates (6-0) … Lex Fridman … actress Debra Messing … Rachel Sterne Haot … Benjamin Silverman … Matt Silverstein … Tyler Grimm … Matt Spence
BELATED B-DAY WISHES — (was Thursday): Adam D'Angelo
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