Who’s spending big bucks on California’s Senate race?

What do cryptocurrency billionaires, unionized carpenters and criminal justice reform advocates have in common? They’re all pouring big bucks into trying to influence whom California voters will send to the U.S. Senate.

While candidates running for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat face strict rules on how much money they can accept from donors — $3,300 from individuals, and $5,000 from political committees — super PACs can accept unlimited contributions and fund ads that can boost or attack candidates.

A handful of super PACs have spent more than $21 million on California’s Senate race so far and have at least $71 million more at their disposal, report my colleagues Laura J. Nelson and Benjamin Oreskes. Super PACs have been formed to support all three Democratic front-runners — Reps. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank, Katie Porter of Irvine and Barbara Lee of Oakland. No similar group has appeared to support Republican front-runner and retired baseball player Steve Garvey.

Nelson and Oreskes dove into the campaign finance reports to see who’s pouring money into the super PACs that are funding many of the ads you’re seeing on TV and online. Their story provides insights into some of the biggest donors hoping to boost or sink Senate candidates in the primary election. I hope you’ll check it out:

Meet some of the biggest donors shaping California’s U.S. Senate race

Also, don’t miss columnist George Skelton with a sharp take on how California’s top-two primary is shaping the contours of this race:

California’s top-two primary creates twists and turns in Senate race

I’m Laurel Rosenhall, The Times’ Sacramento bureau chief, and here is the biggest news of the week in California politics. The March 5 primary election is days away so I’ve got a lot of news to share.

A messy House race in the Central Valley

One of the most competitive House races in the country is playing out in California’s Central Valley, where Democrats are hoping to flip a red seat blue by ousting GOP Rep. David Valadao of Hanford.

But first they have to make sure a Democrat makes it to the general election.

The primary fight between two prominent Democrats has become so fierce that there is a possibility neither will survive the March 5 primary, writes Times reporter Melissa Gomez. That would ensure a Republican holds a congressional seat considered pivotal in determining which party controls the House of Representatives.

Rudy Salas, a former Assemblymember, is the clear choice among top Democratic leaders in Washington, who have spent more than half a million dollars supporting his campaign. He has been endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), the California Democratic Party and the United Farm Workers after challenging Valadao in 2022 and losing by about 3,100 votes.

He’s being challenged by Democratic state Sen. Melissa Hurtado, who represents much of the congressional district in Sacramento, an area that covers vast swaths of farmland across Kern, Kings and Tulare counties. She was first elected to the Legislature in 2018, defeating a Republican incumbent at age 30 to become the youngest woman elected to the state Senate.

Some Democrats fear that Salas and Hurtado may fracture the Democratic vote in the March 5 primary so much that Valadao and far-right Republican Chris Mathys will be able to finish in the top spots. In California’s top-two primary system, the two candidates with the most votes, regardless of their parties, go on to the November election.

Read more about this fascinating race: How a showdown between Central Valley Democrats could help the GOP keep control of Congress

Democratic Party leader shakes up north coast race

Another hot contest is playing out on California’s North Coast, reports my colleague Hannah Wiley, where three prominent Democrats are duking it out for a seat in the state Assembly representing a district that stretches from wine country to the Oregon border.

One of them is California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks, who moved to the region from Los Angeles just a few years ago. As you might expect for a party leader, Hicks’ campaign has attracted considerable funding and clout. A former leader of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Hicks has endorsements from a roster of power players including Gov. Gavin Newsom and a long list of labor unions.

Skeptics accuse Hicks of carpetbagging his way from Los Angeles to Humboldt County with ambitions to run for office, and have blasted his long list of donations from Southern California and Sacramento as evidence that he lacks connections to the people he wants to represent.

Competing against Hicks are two prominent Democrats with deep roots in the district: Healdsburg City Councilmember Ariel Kelley and former Santa Rosa Mayor Chris Rogers.

It’s another contest where California’s top-two primary is a decisive factor: The only Republican in the race is likely to win enough GOP votes to send him to the November general election. But a majority of the district’s voters are registered Democrats, so the Democratic candidate who makes it through the primary has a good chance of winning in November.

Read more here: Democratic Party chair Rusty Hicks assailed as outsider in bid for North Coast Assembly seat

Latino politics in Los Angeles

It’s impossible to understand California politics today without understanding the politics of Latino leaders from Los Angeles. Their rise to prominence over the last 50 years has not only shaped life for the 10 million residents of L.A. County but also for all of California. Numerous Assembly speakers, a state Senate leader, a Los Angeles mayor and a U.S. senator have risen from the powerful Latino political networks that Times columnist Gustavo Arellano chronicles in a sweeping new series. Make time to read it:

• PART I: THE EASTSIDE’S PERPETUAL DESMADRE
  In the cradle of Latino political power, rivalries are downright biblical. Friends turn into enemies and enemies become friends, among politicians and pretenders.
  
• PART II: THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY MACHINE SPEAKS
  Inside the rise and stumbles of an L.A. political dynasty worthy of the British royals.
  
• PART III: BACK TO SOUTH L.A.’S FUTURE
  For the first time in generations, a Latino has a good chance of being elected in South L.A. The candidates are focusing on who can bridge Black and Latino voices.
  
• PART IV: SELA UNITED
  In Southeast L.A. County, a new generation of politicians is pushing back against the region’s doom-loop reputation by trying something new: working together.

Bonus: Gustavo and Times deputy design director Allison Hong cleverly illustrated these networks with charts that show the family trees of Latino politics in L.A.

Keeping up with California politics

California lawmakers can’t take lobbyist donations — unless they’re running for Congress
State law forbids California lobbyists from donating to the campaigns of state lawmakers. But there are no such restrictions on lobbyists donating to campaigns for federal office, even when the candidate is a state lawmaker. So as several state lawmakers run for Congress this year, they are taking donations for their federal campaigns from lobbyists who may seek to influence their votes in Sacramento. The donations are legal but some watchdogs say they should be prohibited.

California efforts to crack down on legacy and donor admissions could hit USC, Stanford
As scrutiny over fairness in college admissions intensifies, a California lawmaker renewed efforts Wednesday to ban state financial aid to private campuses — including USC and Stanford University — that give admissions preferences to children of alumni and donors.

State senators respond to fentanyl and retail theft crises with new legislation
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the California Senate on Monday announced a package of legislation to address the growing fentanyl crisis and untamed outbreak of organized retail thefts. The legislation seeks to increase access to treatment, enhance addiction services for those in the criminal justice system and penalize criminal trafficking of xylazine, or “tranq,” a horse tranquilizer laced in fentanyl.

Migrant arrests are up along the border in California and dropping in Texas. Why?
A new pattern emerged along the nation’s southern frontier last month: Migrant arrests plummeted at the Texas border in January compared with the same month a year ago. At the same time, similar arrests soared year-over-year at entry points in California and Arizona.

Senate panel again advances Californian Julie Su’s bid to become Labor secretary
The Senate Labor Committee voted Tuesday to once again advance Julie Su’s nomination to lead the Labor Department, though it doesn’t appear that anything has changed since her bid for the job languished last year amid fierce GOP opposition and a handful of Democratic holdouts. Su, who was previously California’s labor chief, was nominated by President Biden a year ago and has served as acting secretary since March.

California takes up White House call to toughen gun storage rules
California lawmakers are weighing a pitch from the White House for states to toughen gun storage rules as legislation languishes in Congress. Even though many states, including California, have laws in place for safely storing guns when children are present, the Biden administration wants them to go further by requiring gun owners to secure firearms most of the time. California’s Senate passed a sweeping bill in January that would adopt the White House recommendation.

Republicans to launch another long-shot effort to recall Newsom
A group of Republicans involved in the failed 2021 recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that they plan another attempt to remove him from office, a long-shot bid that would require more than 1.3 million valid voter signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Newsom unveils multistate ad campaign to fight abortion travel restrictions in red states
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday unveiled a multistate ad campaign to combat proposals in several Republican-controlled states that he said aim to ban out-of-state travel for abortions and related medications.