Newsletter: Essential Politics: Democratic debate tonight to showcase true friction

I’m Christina Bellantoni, the Essential Politics host today. Let’s get started.

The Democratic presidential contest heads to prime time tonight, as Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders meet on a debate stage for the first time since their campaigns have taken such a heated turn.

In the last few weeks, they have sparred from podiums and through surrogates.

In recent days, Clinton has revived old attack lines, criticizing Sanders’ votes against some gun control measures and immigration overhaul legislation that would have provided a pathway to citizenship. He’s returned the favor by bringing up her changing position on driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants.

But, as Chris Megerian writes, the biggest question is how Clinton will handle Sanders suggesting she wasn’t “qualified” to be president.

Sanders on Wednesday scored his first Senate endorsement from a fellow liberal from Oregon, puncturing one Clinton attack line as the Democrats continue to squabble over superdelegates. Keep track of the delegate race here.

We’ll be covering tonight’s Democratic debate in New York in real time on Trail Guide, so please join us there and follow @latimespolitics.

LOOKING TO CLEVELAND

By Donald Trump’s telling, crooked Republican operatives have rigged the selection of the party’s presidential nominee and plan to defy the will of the millions of Americans who have voted for him. His charge feeds into a widespread misconception that political parties choose their White House nominees by popular vote.

Michael Finnegan gets at the cold reality of politics and points out: They don’t.

So what mass chaos can people expect if Trump is denied the nomination by the Republican Party?

Well, the vast majority of Republican voters are older than 50 and long past their rioting prime. Some might pout, or even carry a protest sign and refuse to vote in November, but they’re not going to tangle with SWAT teams.

That and more from George Skelton’s Thursday column laying out the several reasons why there won’t be riots in the streets if Donald Trump is denied the Republican nomination in the convention.

(Meanwhile, some Republicans in tough re-election races are saying no thanks to attending the national convention.)

CALIFORNIA VISITS

Readers of this newsletter are old enough to remember when I wrote yesterday that Trump was the only contender not on the agenda at the state GOP convention at the end of the month. Well, guess what, he’s going to Burlingame after all. The party announced Wednesday he will speak during the Friday lunch slot.

And Clinton — who, as readers will remember, is hosting a huge fundraiser with George Clooney on Saturday — will take advantage of being in California to hold an event. Her campaign announced she will “discuss her plans to raise wages and break down all the barriers that hold Americans back” in Los Angeles on Saturday, but did not give additional details.

THE SHRINKING RANKS OF FEMALE CALIFORNIA POLITICIANS

This is the state that built Nancy Pelosi and ushered in two female senators in the year of the woman. But California is on track to lose as many as 10 female lawmakers in Sacramento and three of the 53 representatives in the House.

Phil Willon crunched the numbers and found more than a third of the 31 women in the state Assembly and Senate are leaving office this year because of term limits or personal reasons, threatening to deplete representation further in a state where an estimated 50.8% of the population is female.

(ANOTHER) NEW FRONTIER IN CALIFORNIA

A new effort has emerged to allow undocumented immigrants with enough income to afford healthcare insurance to be able to buy it through the state exchange. The proposed legislation would grant California a waiver so people in the country illegally who make too much money to qualify for Medi-Cal could still get coverage.

The move comes just after the board of Covered California blessed such an idea, which could help its chances for passage in the Legislature.

If it does, that would make California the first state in the nation to set such a policy.

Track the legislation on our Essential Politics news feed.

WANTED: MORE HOUSES IN THE GOLDEN STATE

It’s no secret that it’s really expensive to buy or rent a house in California. And it’s also no secret, academics and economists say, why. There simply aren’t enough homes across the state to meet the demand.

Despite this dearth of housing supply, Liam Dillon finds that the Legislature is doing little this year to make it easier to build a house. Doing so on a broad scale would require lawmakers to take on environmental and tax reform issues that traditionally are some of the most difficult to address in the Capitol.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

— There’s a distinctive reason immigrants are rushing to get naturalized and vote. Bet you can guess.

— Cathleen Decker writes how African Americans have long been one of the most reliable Democratic voting blocs, but because of that, many also have felt taken for granted. The sensitivity is all the more acute as the tenure of the first African American president winds down, leaving some wondering about their importance to the next White House occupant.

— Decker also looks at where the candidates sit on the political spectrum, and finds that Democrats have moved to the left and Republicans to the right, leaving fewer people in the ideological middle and setting a clear path for any presidential candidate who wants to succeed. That’s one reason why three candidates — Sanders, Trump and Ted Cruz — have freely resided on the edges and have been rewarded by the passion of voters who live there.

— Vice President Joe Biden is headed to the Vatican to talk about curing cancer.

— Comedy writer Gary Jacobs looks at which candidates pets would vote for. Really.

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

LOGISTICS

Miss yesterday’s newsletter? Here you go. Did someone forward you this? Sign up here to get Essential Politics in your inbox daily. And keep an eye on our politics page throughout the day for the latest and greatest. And are you following us on Twitter at @latimespolitics?

Please send thoughts, concerns and news tips to politics@latimes.com.