| | | | |  | | By Lara Korte , Jeremy B. White , Sakura Cannestra and Owen Tucker-Smith | THE BUZZ: Republicans are still on track to take control of the House. And with painfully-close margins in a handful of Congressional races, California could help them get there. Results are still trickling in for races in Orange County, the Inland Empire and the Central Valley, where Republicans are fighting to hang on to several seats and flip others. Their hope, of course, is to help the party win back control of the House and net more seats for the state's congressional delegation, which currently stands at 11 Republicans. But there are a few scenarios in which the net shift for the parties could come out to zero. As of Wednesday night, 22 of California's 52 Congressional races were still undecided. Here's a look at the districts where the outcome remains murky: Following the latest ballot drop last night, Democratic incumbent Rep. Katie Porter is holding a lead of less than one point (about 1,000 votes) over Republican Scott Baugh in CA-47. Incumbent Republicans in nearby districts who had earlier in the year appeared vulnerable — Reps. Michelle Steel in CA-45 and Young Kim in CA-40 — are holding onto solid leads over their Democratic challengers. Similarly, Republican Rep. David Valadao in the Central Valley is leading Democratic Assemblyman Ruday Salas by a considerable margin in CA-22. Next door to Porter, fellow incumbent Democratic Rep. Mike Levin is beating Republican Brian Maryott by just two points in CA-49. In the battle for CA-13, Democratic Assemblyman Adam Gray is just 200 votes behind Republican John Duarte. | 
Young Kim smiles outside her campaign office in Yorba Linda, Calif., Oct. 6, 2018. | Chris Carlson/AP Photo |
Meanwhile — Angelenos, be prepared to wait. Nothing has changed the two local races we're watching closely: LA mayor and LA County sheriff. The last vote count came in early Wednesday morning and we're not expecting an update until Friday morning. The margins remain close and the final tally is far off. In the mayor's race, billionaire developer Rick Caruso leads Rep. Karen Bass 51 percent to 49 percent. In the race for sheriff, incumbent Alex Villanueva was down early to former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna. But again, don't hang your hat on early vote counts.
Speaking of the sheriff — Villanueva doesn't seem to be having a great week. The LA district attorney yesterday launched a criminal investigation into the sheriff after he apparently circulated a video among his deputies asking them to donate to his campaign. We're also still waiting on the outcomes of several legislative races, but yesterday saw concessions in a few Dem-on-Dem matches we've been watching. Shawn Kumagai conceded to Liz Ortega in the Hayward-centered AD-20. Sara Aminzadeh conceded to Damon Connolly in AD-12, which covers San Rafael, Petaluma and part of Santa Rosa. BUENOS DÍAS, good Thursday morning. Assembly Democrats are gathering in Sacramento today for a caucus meeting where they're expected to choose a new speaker — or, at very least, argue about it for several hours. Salinas Assemblymember Robert Rivas is expected to make another bid to take the gavel from Speaker Anthony Rendon. But how the meeting is organized (and who gets invited) could have an outsized influence on the results. Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up: jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte . Send us your political mailers! We're looking to bring more transparency to the elections process. How you can help: Send us photos of the campaign ads you've gotten in the mail. You can upload photos here or email them to mailers@politico.com . QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I think that Elon Musk's cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at. Whether or not he is doing anything inappropriate — I'm not suggesting that. I am suggesting that it is worth being looked at." President Joe Biden on whether the Tesla CEO should face scrutiny for his recent Twitter purchase, which was funded in part by Saudi Arabian investors. TWEET OF THE DAY:
|  Today's Tweet of the Day | Twitter |
WHERE'S GAVIN? In Fresno County to talk about and participate in some of the state's service corps community service projects.
|  | TOP TALKERS | |
— " About 1,700 California pensions are so big they exceed IRS limits ," by the Sacramento Bee's Wes Venteicher: "The extra-large pensions are growing more numerous in California, creating added costs for the cities and counties who have to pay for them. About 40% more retirees are receiving pensions above the limit today than four years ago."
WALKING A TIGHTROPE — " GOP inches toward control of House, but the narrow majority will make things harder for McCarthy ," by the Los Angeles Times' Nolan D. McCaskill: "A slim Republican majority would give significant leverage to even a handful of rebellious GOP House members, who could withhold their needed votes." | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | SF LINEUP — " S.F. Mayor Breed gets an extra year in office due to election year change. Why isn't she a fan of it? " by the San Francisco Chronicle's Mallory Moench: "A Chronicle analysis of data from past elections hypothesized that more moderate voters would come out in even-year elections, theoretically giving Breed a boost in 2024. Research from other California cities that changed their elections showed the electorate became a little more liberal." NATIONAL MESSAGING — " Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis victory speeches pushed wildly different views of 'freedom' ," by the San Francisco Chronicle's Joe Garofoli: "It is a battle that — depending on whether President Biden decides to seek re-election — could be fought all the way to the White House." — " GOP's Kevin Kiley leads Democrat Kermit Jones in close race for 3rd Congressional District ," by the Sacramento Bee's David Lightman: "Running in a district that leaned Republican, Jones was often reluctant to talk about the Democratic Party. Kiley tried in his ads and social media to portray Jones as a close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but Jones would not commit to supporting Pelosi for another term as Democratic leader." — " District attorney investigating Villanueva after deputies were asked to donate to campaign ," by the Los Angeles Times' Alene Tchekmedyian and James Queally: "State law prohibits an employee of a local agency from directly or indirectly soliciting political contributions from an 'officer or employee of that agency, or from a person on an employment list of that agency, with knowledge that the person from whom the contribution is solicited is an officer or employee of that agency.'" | | | | NEW AND IMPROVED POLITICO APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. With a fresh look and improved features, the sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don't miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. Already a POLITICO app user? Upgrade today! DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID . | | | | | | | CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR | | — " Suspect in Paul Pelosi attack indicted on federal charge ," by the Associated Press: "The charges against David DePape stem from the Oct. 28 break-in at the Pelosis' San Francisco home are the same as but supersede those in an earlier federal complaint that was filed on October 31." — " Stopping the Churn: California and Other States Want to Guarantee Medicaid for Kids ," by California Healthline's Phil Galewitz: "California lawmakers have approved a proposal for children who qualify for Medicaid to enroll at birth and stay enrolled until age 5, starting in 2025, pending federal approval." BLOWN AWAY — " How common are tornadoes in California? Here's when and where they usually hit ," by the Sacramento Bee's Jacqueline Pinedo: "On average California sees about 11 tornadoes per year. Thankfully though, they are smaller in size and don't travel very far." — " UC agrees to $6 million settlement with family who accused UCSF medical staff of tearing hole in son's heart ," by the San Francisco Chronicle's Annie Vainshtein: "Davila was 13 months old when he was taken into treatment at UCSF for what his mother, Kim Melville, believed was a cold. In fact, it was a lung infection that rapidly worsened." — " California sheriff's office will no longer patrol during the day due to 'catastrophic' staffing ," by SFGATE's Andrew Chamings: "The Tehama County Sheriff's Office will maintain nighttime patrols, and is seeking help from California Highway Patrol to respond to life-threatening emergencies in the county during daylight hours. " POWERED UP — " California regulators appear poised to unveil new solar rules ," by KPBS' Erik Anderson: "The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is signaling they are ready to reveal the new proposal after their first attempt to rewrite the state's Net Energy Metering rules was loudly condemned." GIVING A CHALLENGE — " Growing numbers of California high schoolers dual enroll in college courses, but access uneven statewide ," by EdSource's Ashley A. Smith, Daniel J. Willis and Yuxuan Xie: "In many areas of the state, Latino and Black students are disproportionately underrepresented in dual enrollment classes, an EdSource analysis shows. The causes can vary between high schools and colleges but include misconceptions about who should take dual enrollment classes, few instructors, a lack of available courses, and a lack of awareness by students, families and high school counselors about the programs."
| | BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL | | SURFING THE WAVE — Biden declares election a 'good day' for democracy and the nation , by POLITICO's Christopher Cadelago and Myah Ward: As election results trickled in, the feeling inside the White House turned from encouragement to relief to an unmistakable sense of vindication, even as the practical realities of losing the House — albeit by far narrower margins than most believed — continued to settle in. HITTING HIGH TIDE — " Donald Trump blames Melania for advising him to back Dr. Oz: report ," by the Mercury News' Martha Ross: "Melania Trump might not be enjoying a peaceful Wednesday at Mar-a-Lago as her husband, Donald Trump, is reportedly 'furious' the morning after Tuesday's election, especially because she reportedly advised him to back a losing Dr. Mehmet Oz in the race for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania." — " Youngkin apologizes to Pelosi for remarks after attack ," by the AP's Sarah Rankin: "The remark drew laughs from the crowd but was quickly condemned — mostly by Democrats — as insensitive and an insufficient condemnation of the violence." | | SILICON VALLEYLAND | | TECH TURNOVER CONTINUES — " Meta Lays Off More Than 11,000 Employees ," by the New York Times' Sheera Frenkel, Adam Satariano and Ryan Mac: "The layoffs were made across departments and regions, with areas like recruiting and business teams affected more than others. The divisions that were not cut as steeply included engineers working on projects related to the metaverse, the immersive online world that [Meta CEO Mark] Zuckerberg has bet big on, two people with knowledge of the matter said." — " Elon Musk's Twitter Did Not Perform at Its Best on Election Day ," by the New York Times' Tiffany Hsu: "Nearly 19,000 tweets specifically mentioned Maricopa [County] alongside terms like 'fraud,' 'cheat' or 'cheating,' according to the research group Zignal, which were references to the debunked belief that the glitches were the first signs of widespread voter fraud." SLASHING THE FORCE — " Salesforce lays off hundreds of salespeople as downsizing hits big tech ," by the San Francisco Chronicle's Roland Li: "The company, which is San Francisco's largest private employer with over 10,000 local employees, confirmed the layoffs occurred Monday." — " Binance Pulls Out of Deal to Acquire Rival Crypto Exchange FTX ," by the New York Times' David Yaffe-Bellany: "The uncertainty around the future of FTX has become an existential threat to young crypto businesses as they struggle to convince Wall Street, regulators and mainstream consumers that they are trustworthy. As news spread of FTX's collapse, crypto markets took a battering, with Bitcoin and Ether both dropping more than 20 percent in value since Tuesday." | | | | DON'T MISS POLITICO'S 2nd ANNUAL DEFENSE SUMMIT ON 11/16: The United States is facing a defining moment in the future of its defense, national security and democratic ideals. The current conflicts and developments around the world are pushing Washington to reshape its defense strategy and how it cooperates with allies. Join POLITICO for our second annual defense summit, "At a Crossroads: America's Defense Strategy" on November 16 in person at the Schuyler DC or join online to hear keynote interviews and panels discussing the road ahead for America's national security. REGISTER HERE . | | | | | | | HOLLYWOODLAND | | — " 'Vogue' Sues Rappers Drake And 21 Savage Over Fake Magazine Cover Promoting New Album ," by NPR's Jonathan Franklin: "In a 30-page lawsuit filed on Monday, Condé Nast argues that the 'widespread promotional campaign' launched by the rappers for their latest album is 'built entirely' on the use of Vogue's trademarks — giving the false premise that the two artists would be featured in an issue of the magazine." | | MEDIA MATTERS | | — Associated Press fixtures Don Thompson and Rich Pedroncelli are hanging it up next week. For years, Thompson has covered the Capitol and Pedroncelli has shot it. — Cap Radio's Kris Hooks is heading to the Boston Globe . | | MIXTAPE | | — " Downtown SF Whole Foods Slashes Store Hours Due to 'High Theft' and Hostile People ," by the San Francisco Standard's Garrett Leahy. — " Should California warn residents when pesticides are sprayed near homes? How to weigh in ," by Fresnoland's Melissa Montalvo. — " Update: Sacramento measure calling for more homeless sweeps leads in early returns ," by the Sacramento Bee's Theresa Clift. JUST A TASTE — " Winery opens ambitious, three-story tasting palace in S.F. — with an underground supper club ," by the San Francisco Chronicle's Esther Mobley. AND NOT ENOUGH — " California pot companies sued for not getting smokers high enough ," by SFGATE's Lester Black. | | IN MEMORIAM | | — " Paul Schrade dies; union leader survived bullet to the head when Robert F. Kennedy was killed ," by the Los Angeles Times' Steve Marble. | | BIRTHDAYS | | Kate Gould of Rep. Ro Khanna's (D-Calif.) office … Kristin Stiles
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