Could California help Democrats turn ‘Red to Blue?’ + Former govs commemorate ‘tailpipe law’

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

DCCC NAMES 5 CA CANDIDATES TO RED-TO-BLUE LIST

Congressional Democrats may be on the defensive this fall, but that isn’t stopping them from playing offense in a handful of districts where they see pickup opportunities. As it turns out, five of the six recently selected “Red to Blue” districts are in California.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) runs its “Red to Blue Program” in districts where they see a vulnerable Republican opponent, spending big on those campaigns.

In California, that includes CA-03, CA-13, CA-27, CA-40, and CA-41, each of which was recently added to the program.

In CA-03, which stretches from Plumas County in the north, through parts of suburban Sacramento and south to Inyo County, Democrat Dr. Kermit Jones is running against Republican Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin.

Kiley’s campaign is already fundraising off the news, saying that Democrats are “funneling (Jones) huge amounts of money, blasting out nonsense attacks every day, and reserving tons of airtime on TV to spread those lies to voters.”

For his part, Jones said in a statement that he is thrilled to have the DCCC’s support for his campaign to “deliver real leadership to CA-03 residents while keeping extremist Kevin Kiley out of Washington.”

In CA-13, in the San Joaquin Valley, Democratic Assemblyman Adam Gray is squaring off against Republican John Duarte. In CA-27, it’s Democrat Christy Smith in a rematch with Republican incumbent Mike Garcia. In CA-40, Democrat Asif Mahmood faces Republican incumbent Young Kim. Finally, in CA-41, Democrat Will Rollins challenges Republican incumbent Ken Calvert.

“The Democratic party is stronger because of candidates like these who have joined the fight to represent their community,” DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney said in a statement. ”Unlike their extreme Republican opponents, these candidates will fight for their district, work to protect reproductive freedom, battle to lower prices on groceries, gas and prescription drug costs, and seek commonsense solutions to combat gun violence terrorizing communities.”

FORMER GOVS TO COMMEMORATE ‘TAILPIPE LAW’

AB 1493, the so-called “Tailpipe Law,” turns 20 this Friday, and the governor who signed it, Democrat Gray Davis, will be on-hand to celebrate the anniversary, along with former Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown.

Among those attending the event, hosted by the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, will be Deputy White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi, and former California lawmaker Fran Pavley, who authored the legislation.

“The event will highlight twenty years of California’s commitment to reducing pollution, protecting clean air, and honor the political leaders that supported AB 1493 and defended its’ implementation in Sacramento and Washington, DC, as it became the national passenger vehicle emissions standard,” according to a statement announcing the event.

For those too young to remember, or perhaps who’ve forgotten, AB 1493 required the California Air Resources Board to develop and adopt regulations “that achieve the maximum feasible reduction of greenhouse gases emitted by passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks” in the state, according to the legislative counsel’s digest writeup of the bill.

The event begins at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator building.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“If you’ve ever wondered what a room would look like after a DEA raid, have kids and wait for them to turn into teenagers.”

- Sen. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, via Twitter.

Best of the Bee:

• Mary Carr, who is 85 and lives in Galt with her husband, relies on $39,000 a year in Social Security as their only income. That makes her one of millions of Californians who don’t make enough to pay income taxes. It also excludes her from the state’s new inflation relief — one-time payments of $200 to $1,050 that will go to households earning as much as $500,000 annually, via Lindsey Holden and Brianna Taylor.

• What if Congress enacts a federal ban on abortion? Via David Lightman and Lindsey Holden.