Essential Politics: A most unusual campaign

I’m Christina Bellantoni, today’s Essential Politics host. Let’s get started with Donald Trump’s would-be Supreme Court justices.

Trump on Wednesday took the highly unusual step of releasing a list of 11 conservative judges as his likely choices for a Supreme Court justice, should he be elected president.

As David Savage reports, presenting a list of judges well known on the right could help him with a significant constituency: social conservatives who have been skeptical of his past support for liberal stands on issues such as abortion. But as with many other moves by Trump, the announcement raised questions — not least of which was how committed the New York businessman was to the list or even how familiar he is with those on it.

Several of the names have appeared on published lists by conservative groups such as the Heritage Foundation, and at least one, Texas Supreme Court Justice Don R. Willett, has publicly mocked Trump in Twitter messages in recent weeks.

The men and women Trump named are from outside the Washington Beltway, most from the South and Midwest. Conspicuously absent are any currently working on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which is the conventional breeding ground for high court nominees.

See the full list here.

CLINTON COMES BACK TO CALI

Hillary Clinton plans campaign events in the Golden State on Tuesday and Wednesday next week. The campaign did not release locations or specifics, but said in a release “she will ask Californians for their support and urge them to go out and vote on Election Day.”

As have many previous visits, these also coincide with fundraisers.

Monday night Clinton will appear at the Los Angeles home of Clarence and Monet Daniels for an event hosted by the couple and Kerman and Capri Maddox. Contribution levels begin at $1,000, according to an invitation obtained by The Times. As we reported earlier this month, she also will attend an early-evening event in Los Angeles on Monday at the home of Bryan Lourd and Bruce Bozzi. Anna Wintour also is listed as a host. Donors can give $2,700 or raise $10,000 as a co-host, which gets them a photo with the candidate.

Former President Bill Clinton will be in town at the end of this week, raising money Saturday in Rancho Santa Fe and Sunday in Beverly Hills.

Sen. Bernie Sanders also is returning to California. The campaign will hold rallies at a park in National City and at a high school stadium in Vista on Saturday.

WARNING: UNITY IN DANGER

The caustic late-season battle between Clinton and Sanders has broadened into a war between Sanders and the Democratic establishment, one amplified by a collision of circumstances.

And judging by the boos directed at the Democratic Party at the Sanders rally in Carson on Tuesday night, Cathleen Decker reports, one danger ahead is that supporters feeling the Bern are loyal to the candidate, not the party.

At the first of two events in Northern California on Wednesday, Sanders portrayed the establishment as his enemy in milder terms. “We have had to take on Democratic governors and senators and members of Congress and mayors, literally almost the entire Democratic establishment, and in state after state the people have stood up and helped defeat the establishment,” he said in San Jose.

The White House on Wednesday made a concerted effort to paper over Democratic difficulties. “I’m confident that Bernie will be supportive if Hillary wins, which the numbers indicate will happen,” Vice President Joe Biden said during an Ohio visit. “So I’m not worried. There’s no fundamental split in the Democratic Party.”

A CALMING FORCE?

George Skelton wonders in his Thursday column if California voters by 2018 will be craving a no-drama candidate following the first year of either President Trump or President Clinton. That might provide a window for newly announced gubernatorial candidate John Chiang.

Or, voters will have have crossed the line into a broadcast blabber, social media world that craves instant gratification and excitement. If so, Skelton writes, Chiang will not be their candidate.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

— Scenes from Sanders rally in San Jose, or get a 360-degree view of the crowd at Tuesday’s Sanders rally in Carson.

— Wednesday was the 42nd Annual Capitol Frog Jump in Sacramento. What’s the Capitol Frog Jump, you ask? Liam Dillon has a video explainer too good to miss.

— Eight members of the state Assembly rallied at the Capitol on Wednesday behind a package of gun control bills scheduled to come up for a vote Thursday in the state Senate. We’ll cover the vote on our Essential Politics news feed.

— Rep. Barbara Lee’s push for an amendment that would have ended President Obama’s authority to use military force against Islamic State failed in the U.S. House on Wednesday evening with 138 votes in favor. Lee opposed the original Authorization for the Use of Military Force, passed after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and wanted Congress to have to debate a new force authorization for military actions against Islamic State.

— Rep. Michael Honda sat down with Bill Nye the Science Guy in his Capitol Hill office Wednesday to talk about NASA funding and space exploration, though the San Jose Democrat admits the television host and educator wasn’t a part of his lexicon and his staff had to bring him up to speed.

— Did you hear the one about Gov. Jerry Brown and taxes?

— Cathleen Decker and I hosted a Facebook live chat Wednesday about California’s June 7 primary, now just 18 days away.

— What do you think of Trump? Readers can weigh in with our quick survey.

LOGISTICS

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