Newsletter: Essential Politics: Tuesdays With Bernie

On the 155th day after the New Hampshire primary, the nation’s political attention returns to the Granite State: Will Sen. Bernie Sanders say the magic words?

Will he finally endorse Hillary Clinton for president?

Good morning from the the state capital. I’m Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers, and our Essential Politics roundup this morning begins with the moment that Democrats have longed rooted for or against — depending on their allegiances in the bitterly contested primary battle between Clinton and Sanders.

The event this morning in Portsmouth, N.H., comes as a number of leading Democrats have been feeling, in the words of Mark Z. Barabak and Chris Megerian, “Berned out.”

We’ll be covering the latest from the New Hampshire event on our Trail Guide news feed, as well as all of the latest presidential developments.

CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS FULLY BEHIND CLINTON

With the endorsements of Reps. Barbara Lee and Alan Lowenthal, California’s House and Senate Democrats have fully united behind Clinton, Sarah Wire reports.

Lee said she was waiting to endorse because she didn’t want to affect negotiations on the Democrat’s policy platform, which wrapped up over the weekend. Lowenthal said he was waiting to see whom voters in his district would support.

Whom does your member of Congress support, Republican or Democrat? Check out our endorsement tracker.

And now with results finalized, our data team updated its comprehensive look at where Clinton and Sanders won in Los Angeles County.

VEEP WATCH

Donald Trump campaigned with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Monday, a continuation of his push to audition possible running mates.

Trump and Christie appeared together in Virginia Beach, Va., one of that swing state’s biggest military towns. And Trump called himself both “the law-and-order candidate” and “the candidate of compassion,” invoking a bit of the Richard Nixon approach in the tumultuous 1968 campaign, as Michael Finnegan notes.

Trump then turned his attention to his opponent.

“Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, is weak, ineffective, pandering and, as proven by her recent email scandal … she’s either a liar or grossly incompetent,” he said. “One or the other. Very simply. Personally, it’s probably both.”

WRANGLING OVER REPUBLICAN VALUES

The Republican convention in Cleveland officially kicks off next week, but the GOP faithful are already in Ohio for key pre-convention confabs. Melanie Mason reported from the scene as select delegates began crafting the 2016 platform, laying out the party’s stance on a host of hot-button issues.

Among the actions on Monday, Republicans rebuffed softer language on same-sex marriage, choosing to affirm that marriage is between one man and one woman. They also rejected an amendment to back the legalization of medical marijuana.

A CRACKDOWN ON COMPUTER RANSOMWARE

When state legislators return to Sacramento next month, they’ll consider a proposal to make the use of what’s called “ransomware” a felony.

As Jazmine Ulloa reports, lawmakers are taking a closer look after a spate of high-profile cyber-attacks on hospitals in Southern California, carried out by hackers using a type of malware that infects a computer and allows them to then hold data hostage until money is paid.

The bill has faced little opposition, but some question whether such a law will be enforceable. After all, the attacks can be difficult to trace, and the culprits are often overseas.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

— Jeb Bush offered a pretty dismal prediction about Trump on Monday. “There isn’t going to be a wall built. And Mexico’s not going to pay for it. And there’s not going to be a ban on Muslims. None of that is — this is all like an alternative universe that he created,” Bush said in an interview on MSNBC.

— Backers of a controversial ballot measure intended to shift billions of dollars in state bond money from high-speed rail to water storage projects say they will rewrite the stalled initiative in an effort to gain broader support.

— Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, the front-runner in November’s U.S. Senate election, sent a letter to the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday criticizing the agency’s decision to ban sexually active gay and bisexual men from donating blood.

— Controller Betty Yee, the state’s chief fiscal officer, has agreed to pay $2,082 in fines to California’s political watchdog agency over late reporting of contributions before the 2014 election.

— Also paying a fine for disclosure statements: The ride-sharing powerhouse Lyft, which agreed Monday to pay $6,000 in fines over the late disclosure of lobbying.

— California Lottery officials say it looks like a new sales record was set for the fiscal year that ended June 30 by taking in nearly $6.3 billion, beating the $5.5-billion record set in the previous year. Part of the success lies in huge Powerball jackpots, including the record-setting $1.6-billion pot on Jan. 13.

— Nancy Pelosi has weighed in on the race between two Democrats hoping to replace Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who is running for Senate. In a statement Monday, Pelosi endorsed former state senator Lou Correa over Garden Grove Mayor Bao Nguyen, who eked out enough votes to face Correa in November.

— More than 1,000 people marched to the state Capitol Monday in a silent protest over the national debate on police violence.

— Who will win the November election? Give our Electoral College map a spin.

LOGISTICS

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