Second guessing the second question

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SECOND GUESSING THE SECOND QUESTION: What’s a Democrat to do? With Gov. Gavin Newsom telling voters to skip the replacement candidate question in the recall election — and other Democrats saying the same — a bewildered electorate is facing an information vacuum.

“There’s no guidance being given from the trusted information sources as to what the Democrats should be doing, and then you hear the dissonance from the Newsom campaign, ‘Don’t even vote,’” said Mark DiCamillo, head of the Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies poll. “This is just an odd, odd situation.”

The “leave it blank” argument was borne of fears that Democrats could suffer a repeat of the last recall, when, according to strategists, voters were confused by Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante’s last-minute candidacy to replace Gov. Gray Davis in 2003. But even staunch Newsom supporters are now questioning the tactic. “I have to be honest, ‘No on the Recall, Yes on Bustamante’ seems far more rational to me now,” Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) said on Twitter this week.

“I just didn’t expect the blow back from even well-informed voters,” she said, citing skepticism from her relatives. “People are nervous to leave that blank.”

“It’s kind of counterintuitive to forgo your right to vote,” said Barbara O’Connor, director emeritus of the Institute for the Study of Politics and the Media at Sacramento State. “Everyone is in a conundrum about what they should do.”

Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer appears to be pivoting to woo Democrats who might not want to skip the second question. He appealed to “every undecided voter” on Wednesday, attacking GOP frontrunner Larry Elder over his statement that venture capitalists should feel free to ask female entrepreneurs if they’re planning to have children. “Larry Elder is doubling down on his attacks on working women and California families,” Faulconer said.

Some outside groups are trying to provide guidance. A progressive San Francisco political group, the League of Pissed-Off Voters, isn’t making a formal endorsement but did recommend this week that people who are looking to fully exercise their right to vote pick Joel Ventresca, an “old school San Francisco political gadfly.”

“Virtually all of the progressive voters we talk to wish there was a serious ‘break glass in case of emergency’ Democratic candidate,” Cynthia Crews-Pollock, a member of the group’s steering committee, said in an email. As their voter guide says: “Ventresca won’t win, but at least we won’t feel bad voting for him.”

BREAKING NEWS: The Sacramento Bee editorial board this afternoon called on Elder to drop out of the recall race, citing his comments about women and allegations made by his ex-fiancee that were first reported yesterday by POLITICO. “Elder, now lacking any moral authority or political claim on this very complex job, should exit this race promptly to spare this long-suffering state and the nation the embarrassment of his potentially disgraceful governorship,” the board wrote.

HAPPY FRIDAY AFTERNOON! Welcome to California PM Playbook, a new POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check of California politics. We’re back for the legislative homestretch and last month of the California recall campaign. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to [email protected] and [email protected]. We’re also on Twitter: @kyamamura or @katymurphy.

TRAIL MIX

— Republican John Cox is in Monterey discussing his tax cut plan.

— Republican Kevin Faulconer is in Sacramento, Modesto and Visalia today for the second day of his bus tour.

— Republican Caitlyn Jenner is in Plumas County to visit areas affected by the Dixie Fire.

DONATION STATION: Newsom’s anti-recall committee received $100,000 from Airbnb.

NOT HOLDING BACK: Larry Elder this afternoon equated the state’s new vaccine verification requirement for large indoor events with racial segregation: “Given the wide gap of vaccination rates in California between whites and blacks/hispanics, Gavin Newsom forcing any private event organizer to implement vaccine passports is a modern day form of state sponsored racial segregation. Disparate impact, as the woke like to say.”


DETAILS

ELDER TIMELINE: Elder’s former fiancee, Alexandra Datig, has come forward to accuse him of abusive behavior during their relationship, which Datig says culminated in Elder seeking to evict her. Here is a reconstruction of the relationship’s collapse, based on documents shared with POLITICO:

— February 2014: Datig signs a non-disclosure agreement.

— April 3, 2015: Datig is served an eviction notice.

— April 6, 2015: Datig writes to then-Los Angeles Councilman Bernard Parks, among others, to allege a relationship of “manipulation and abuses” in which Elder copiously smokes marijuana; cut her off from friends and “manipulated my self-esteem,” and demanded she get a tattoo because “I like branding my bitches.” Datig wrote she feels “like a hostage” but is afraid to flee because “there is a loaded gun and drugs” in the house. Datig alleges Elder checked if his gun was loaded during an argument.

— April 9, 2015: Elder agrees in a text message conversation to compensate Datig in exchange for her moving out.

— April 13, 2015: Elder and Datig sign an agreement stipulating that Elder will pay for her lawyer’s retainer, tattoo removal and wedding dress dry-cleaning while agreeing to sign an NDA and to give Datig a Cadillac and a letter of recommendation. He commits to dropping eviction proceedings if Datig departs.

— July 22, 2015: An attorney for Datig writes Elder to say he misrepresented that he was selling rather than giving her the Cadillac, which meant he wants to “saddle her with the sales taxes associated with his mischaracterization of the gift.” It is not clear if Elder responded. — Jeremy B. White

CAMPAIGNS

ALL ABOUT ELDER: Republican recall candidates continued to target Elder on Friday over his past comments and writings about women and the Datig allegations.

On Twitter, Jenner called for Elder to drop out of the race based on an Elder quote from a 2000 article: “‘women know less than men about political issues, economics and current events.’ @larryelder DROP OUT NOW. You are not what CA wants let alone what we need. I am the proud father of very powerful, intelligent, successful women. You’re as bad as @GavinNewsom towards women”

Faulconer held a press conference outside the state Capitol to criticize Elder, POLITICO’s Mackenzie Mays reports. “We cannot replace one dysfunctional governor with another,” Faulconer said, adding that he would stand up for working women. Faulconer did not offer specific proposals on how he’d help those workers, saying he would let women know that he supports them.

PIVOTAL MOMENT? If Faulconer is going to make a hard pivot toward the middle and Democrats, he’s running short on time now that ballots are in voters’ hands. He missed a perfect opportunity during Thursday’s televised debate when asked if he would vote for former President Donald Trump if Trump became the GOP nominee in 2024.

Faulconer responded that he couldn’t answer because we don’t know who the nominee will be. But he also said, “Let’s not fall into the trap of what Gavin Newsom wants, which is he wants to make this all about the former president.” Then he went on to attack Newsom for homelessness and what he said was enabling the defunding of police.

Maybe there were no perfect answers to the question, but it was another chance for Faulconer to distance himself from Trump by condemning the actions of Jan. 6 or stating the election of President Joe Biden was fair. GOP strategist Rob Stutzman told us earlier this week that a big-deal signal like that could help voters feel more comfortable about him as a “safe harbor.”

POLITICAL BUSINESS

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MASK IS: A supplement maker has withdrawn its sponsorship of Arnold Classic bodybuilding events after former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ripped anti-maskers this month for prolonging the pandemic. He said someone who doesn’t want to wear a mask is “a schmuck” and told them, “screw your freedom,” equating mask rules to traffic lights.

Boca Raton, Fla.-based REDCON1 said in a release that Schwarzenegger’s comments were “dangerous and anti-America.” The company said it has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the Arnold Classic “but we can’t in good conscience continue to support & be involved with someone who has such diametrically opposed beliefs.”

The Arnold Classic is held annually in Columbus, Ohio, and dates back to 1989. It is now part of the larger Arnold Sports Festival, which includes a multitude of different athletic competitions and is slated to occur next month. Schwarzenegger attended the festival even when he was California governor, accompanied by a small group of aides and political reporters.

On the same day REDCON1 pulled out of the event, the Arnold Sports Festival announced a new sponsor, Canadian-based MUTANT Nutrition. “No matter your creed, color, religion, or political beliefs, the Arnold Sports Festival welcomes you with open arms,” the festival said in a statement. “Recently, however, one of our sponsors decided that they could no longer support the Arnold Classic after Arnold Schwarzenegger said that freedom comes with responsibility.”

Around California

Links compiled by Camryn Dadey

— “Arts, housing, small business: How Sacramento mayor wants to spend $112 million in federal aid.” (SacBee)

— “Gavin Newsom quietly sells Bay Area home for $5.9 million.” (LATimes)

— “Photos: A million acres burned already as California enters peak fire season.” (LATimes)

— “Erika D. Smith Column: Larry Elder is the Black face of white supremacy. You’ve been warned.” (LATimes)