California 2020 Countdown: Presidential contenders headed to Bay Area for state Democratic convention

It’s 285 days until California’s presidential primary. In this new weekly roundup, you’ll find everything you need to know to stay on top of the race for Golden State voters.

We’ll offer a rundown on how the nearly two dozen presidential hopefuls are competing to win California, with a special focus on Kamala Harris and Eric Swalwell, the state’s first elected Democrats to run for the White House in 25 years. We’ll explore how Silicon Valley is intersecting with the political battlefield, from debates over tech policy to explorations of how the campaigns are using social media. And we’ll include links to coverage of the presidential race and California politics from the Bay Area News Group and other outlets.

Look for the column online every Thursday morning. Here’s what you need to know this week about the fight for California’s presidential primary:

Convention convergence

All eyes will be on the Bay Area next weekend when at least 14 presidential contenders flock to San Francisco for the state Democratic Party convention — likely the largest concentration of presidential contenders in one spot during the entire campaign so far.

All of the top candidates have confirmed they’ll show up at Moscone Center, except for one notable absence: former Vice President Joe Biden, who’s leading most polls. While Harris is the most familiar face for the activists, insiders and strategists who attend state conventions, many attendees said they’re looking forward to meeting and hearing from some of the less prominent contenders.

“It’s like going to a cattle auction — people want to see all the cattle,” said Bob Mulholland, a longtime party strategist in Chico. “Nobody, even a home-state U.S. senator, should take anybody for granted.”

The Golden State’s convention has always been an attractive destination for Democratic presidential hopefuls. In April 2007, seven of the eight candidates — including then-senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton — walked the halls at the party convention in San Diego. (Once again, Biden was the only candidate to skip it.)

And how does this cattle call work?

With 23 candidates running for president, this year’s shindig will be on a whole different scale. Each candidate is expected to get about 10 minutes to speak at the general session on Saturday or possibly Sunday, and several others will appear at a forum held by the progressive group MoveOn to share the “one big idea” they think would help change the country.

But the most important action, insiders say, will be when candidates press the flesh at caucus meetings on Friday and Saturday with party leaders and activists. Christine Pelosi, the chair of the women’s caucus, said her group will want to hear the candidates’ stances on the recent anti-abortion legislation passed in Southern states and on Trump administration efforts to reduce birth control funding, while RL Miller, the chair of the environmental caucus, said she planned to press candidates to sign a pledge to reject campaign donations from fossil fuel executives.

Meanwhile, party delegates will be voting on a multi-candidate brawl for party chair, which could distract from the spotlight on the presidential hopefuls. The first vote will take place Saturday afternoon and a runoff is likely Sunday morning. It comes in the aftermath of the sexual harassment scandal surrounding former chair Eric Bauman, who resigned last year.

“If you haven’t been to a big, boisterous diverse convention before, it’s a little bit of a culture shock,” Pelosi said. “We’re Californians, we yell at each other about everything — so don’t take it personally if we boo you.”

Here are the candidates who’ve confirmed they’re attending the convention:

• Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT)
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA)
• Sen. Kamala Harris (CA)
• Mayor Pete Buttigieg (South Bend, IN)
• Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (TX)
• Sen. Cory Booker (NJ)
• Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro (TX)
• Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN)
• Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI)
• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)
• Gov. Jay Inslee (WA)
• Former Gov. John Hickenlooper (CO)
• Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA)
• Former Rep. John Delaney (MD)

Which candidates were in California this week?

Former HUD secretary Julián Castro visited the Bay Area last week Thursday and Friday, meeting teachers and students at Oakland schools to promote his new education plan, which would help states start pre-kindergarten programs, give teachers a raise of up to $10,000 a year and eliminate tuition at all public colleges and universities. He also attended a strike at UC San Francisco Mission Bay and a forum hosted by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group in Santa Clara.

Castro’s education proposal is another sign of how teacher strikes like the one in Oakland earlier this year have influenced the primary race, giving prominence to the issue of teacher pay. Harris also has put forward a plan to invest federal funds in public teacher salaries.

When you talk about education policy, you can't do it without educators. Thanks to @JulianCastro for meeting with students and @OaklandEA educators today!

Our members are everywhere and we can't wait to meet with more 2020 candidates!#StrongPublicSchools@keithdashawn pic.twitter.com/iqaGjPC1Pi

— NEA Education Votes (@edvotes) May 16, 2019

Harris’ plan to fight gender pay gap

How it would work: Companies with 100 or more employees would be required to demonstrate that they’re paying their male and female employees equally, considering differences in job titles and experience. Those that don’t would be fined 1 percent of their profits for every 1 percent of their wage gap — funds that would pay for a federal paid family leave program. Under current law, female employees have to prove they are being paid less because of their gender in order to sue for pay discrimination; Harris’ plan would flip that around and require corporations to prove they aren’t discriminating.

There’s almost zero chance the plan would pass the GOP-controlled Senate. So Harris also said she’d push an executive order banning companies without pay equity from competing for federal contracts larger than $500,000.

What’s her motivation: Women make just 80 cents for every dollar men do, with women of color making even less. The proposal is the latest example of Harris focusing her platform on combating pay inequities — she’s also put forward a plan to increase teacher salaries and pay public defenders the same as prosecutors.

“What’s unique and interesting about Harris’ plan is that she’s not putting the onus on women [to prove pay discrimination] but looking at the system behind it.” said Mary Gatta, a City University of New York sociology professor who’s studied gender pay equity.

Who’s leading this week in…

Google search traffic (California): Biden saw a spike during his Philadelphia campaign rally on Saturday, while Buttigieg led the field during and after his Fox News town hall this week.

Facebook ad spending (nationwide): President Trump continues to lead all the Democratic candidates when accounting for both his campaign and his joint fundraising committee with the Republican National Committee. Harris was at the front of the Democratic pack last week, spending on ads highlighting her opposition to anti-abortion laws being passed in several Southern states.

Mark your calendars

Harris will be featured in a town hall event on MSNBC on Tuesday, May 28 at 7 p.m. Pacific Time, following multiple CNN town hall appearances over the last few months.

And Swalwell will get his first town hall in front of a nationally televised audience on Sunday, June 2 at 5 p.m. Pacific on CNN, the third of three hour-long events that evening also featuring his House colleagues Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio.

These town halls have provided big breakout moments to some candidates — most notably, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg used his first turn in the spotlight to jump-start his rise in the polls, and got more attention with a Fox News event this week. But CNN has seen anemic viewership to its barrage of events, and getting a spot alongside two other little-known House members who Swalwell is already getting confused with by national voters might not help him differentiate himself. Expect him to focus on issues like gun control and student debt.

What else to read this week

Early adopter: Pete Buttigieg was Facebook’s 287th user when he signed up for the social network as a Harvard undergraduate in 2004. Now he says the company has too much power — but he isn’t calling for it to be broken up. (Casey Tolan, Bay Area News Group)

Missing in action: Harris and other presidential candidates in Congress are racking up missed votes as they crisscross the country campaigning. Harris has missed 23.3 percent of votes in 2019, while Swalwell has missed 22.1 percent. (Tal Kopan, San Francisco Chronicle)

• One exception: Harris postponed a campaign trip to Iowa this week on Wednesday to vote for a disaster relief funding bill benefiting California and other states.

Biden cash: Biden has been raking in donations from large-dollar fundraisers around the country, including in Southern California, hoping to cement his frontrunner status in the race. (Shane Goldmacher and Katie Glueck, New York Times)

Swalwell’s seat: As Swalwell runs for president, the race for his East Bay congressional seat is heating up, with State Sen. Bob Wieckowski jumping in this week. He’ll face off with Hayward City Council member Aisha Wahab in a contrast of political styles. (Casey Tolan, Bay Area News Group)

What’s in a logo: A presidential campaign’s logo can tell you a lot about how a candidate wants to sell themselves to voters, and both Harris and Swalwell are among the few candidates who put their full names in the logo. “He’s not Cher, or anything like that,” Swalwell strategist Lisa Tucker said in explaining why plain-old “Eric” wouldn’t do. (Mark Barabak, Los Angeles Times)

Ask the candidates

Wonder how the California primary works or what to expect? Have a question for a specific presidential candidate?  Email me at ctolan@bayareanewsgroup.com or message me on Twitter @caseytolan and we’ll include the answers in a future column. Also let me know what you’d like to read about or any other feedback.