THE BUZZ — GOP INFIGHTING: The intra-Republican recall truce lasted about as long as a San Diego snowstorm.

It was mere weeks ago that the California Republican Party agreed to eschew an endorsement in the name of party unity. Better to present an unbroken front for recalling Gov. Gavin Newsom than allow infighting that could fracture the base — or so went the logic, embraced by party delegates and candidates alike. But that was before talk show host Larry Elder edged into the lead. Elder’s Republican rivals — chiefly former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer — had begun blasting Elder for his past sexist comments, as well as his opposition to the minimum wage.

Then on Thursday, Carla’s reporting on Elder’s treatment of his former fiancée landed. And on Friday, the dam broke.

First to demand Elder exit the race was fellow Republican Caitlyn Jenner, tweeting that Elder is “not what CA wants let alone what we need” and “as bad as” Newsom toward women. Faulconer followed, saying Elder must drop out because his “lack of judgement and character flaws threaten the success and credibility of this historic recall movement.” If you were betting on the typically liberal Sacramento Bee editorial board aligning with multiple Republican contenders, come collect your winnings. Elder’s camp retorted that “this is a recall election, not a GOP primary,” and that Elder would keep the focus on Newsom "rather than participate in a circular firing squad among the replacement candidates.”

RISK AND REWARD: The argument against Republicans attacking one another still holds. It doesn’t matter which Republican collects the most votes on the “who should replace Newsom” question if a majority of voters don’t bubble in “yes” on the “should he be recalled” question. Elder has energized plenty of conservative voters and donors, his controversial record notwithstanding, and the sight of fellow Republicans drawing knives on him could disillusion some pro-recall voters.

Faulconer and Jenner are also effectively doing Newsom’s work for him, amplifying the governor’s central closing argument — that is, that Elder, Newsom’s most likely replacement, is too extreme to govern California. Faulconer’s calculus here is that, by distinguishing himself as the more reasonable alternative, he can draw enough moderate voters to counter Elder’s strength on the right and construct a plurality on that second question. That work could matter beyond this race, as candidates look toward the regularly scheduled 2022 gubernatorial contest.

But if Newsom prevails, you can count on some recriminations for the Republicans who failed to hold the party line. That GOP base outrage, in turn, could make it harder for Faulconer to pitch himself to conservatives as the best choice to take on Newsom in 2022. (Then again, Faulconer would struggle to make that case anyway if he finishes significantly behind Elder in the recall.)

AND NOW THERE’S THIS — ELDER CAMPAIGN SHAKEUP: In the wake of increasing scrutiny of his treatment of women, Elder has shaken up his campaign team and hired a new campaign manager, POLITICO has learned.

Campaign manager Louis Barnett, who has been with Elder since Elder entered the race in July, said Sunday that he will now instead work on a ballot committee to boost Elder’s bid and recall Newsom.

In his place, Elder has hired Jeffrey Corless, a GOP consultant who worked on Republican Carly Fiorina’s run for the U.S. Senate. Corliss confirmed to POLITICO he has taken on the role “as we look to bring this effort home to victory.” Stay tuned.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Monday morning. Vice President Kamala Harris is in Southeast Asia today, but she’ll be closer to home later this week. And you can join Carla, along with KQED’s Scott Shafer, Dan Schnur of USC’s Annenberg School of Communications and host John Zipperer, for a special live Commonwealth Club of California political roundtable: “The Newsom Recall.” Monday, 6:30 p.m.

Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit [email protected] or [email protected] or follow us on Twitter @cmarinucci and @jeremybwhite.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Californians will not vote to recall one dysfunctional Governor if it means replacing him with another. The only way to truly unite Republicans, Democrats and independents around our goal of removing Gavin Newsom and making California more livable is for Larry Elder to drop out of this race.” Faulconer’s case for why Elder must drop out.

TWEET OF THE DAY: Conservative @SaarioBrandon offers a rebuttal: “If we lose the Yes by a few % points, look at Faulconer and his campaign. Stop attacking Republicans and just focus on your campaign and getting the Yes vote out”

WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

— “Tensions erupt at SEIU Local 1000 as CalPERS board member texts vulgar phrase at president,” by the Sac Bee's Wes Venteicher: “‘Suck a D---!’ read bold text at the top of the public employee union’s Monday newsletter. The vulgar headline referred to a remark Theresa Taylor, an elected member on the CalPERS Board of Administration and a Local 1000 officer, wrote in a text message to another union representative regarding Local 1000 president Richard Louis Brown.”

BIG RULING — “California judge strikes down tech industry's Prop. 22,” by POLITICO’s Jeremy B. White: Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch centered his ruling on a provision in Proposition 22 setting a 7/8ths threshold for the Legislature to amend the law. Opponents have asserted the bar is so high that it robs lawmakers of their constitutional authority — an argument Roesch embraced.

— “She found a 100-year-old diary in her San Francisco home. Following its story changed her life,” by the SF Chronicle's Sarah Feldberg.

HERE COMES HARRIS: Vice President Kamala Harris announced she will hit the recall campaign trail for Newsom, her longtime political counterpart, this week. The VP is planning to swing through the Bay Area on Friday. This comes as the White House has amplified its support, with President Joe Biden rallying to Newsom’s defense.

MEANWHILE — Silicon Valley bigwigs side with Newsom, by POLITICO’s Susannah Luthi: More than half of the sector’s outpouring so far came from Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, a prolific state donor who funded Newsom’s opponent in the 2018 election and whose generosity now is seen as a peace offering.

UNIONS UNDERCUT? — “Why California labor is worried about the Gavin Newsom recall election,” by the Sac Bee’s Jeong Park: “A GOP governor could appoint officials to positions where they could steer policies to benefit businesses over unions. A governor also could postpone increasing the state’s minimum wage for workers in smaller employers.”

ALL ABOUT ELDER — “Who is Larry Elder and what would he do as governor?” by CalMatters’ Ben Christopher: “When selecting a judge or justice, he would model his selection on self-described originalists like Thomas and the late-Antonin Scalia. And for the state Board of Education? ‘Somebody who has the same philosophy as the former Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos,’ he said.”

FACT CHECK — “No, California's recall ballot was not designed to help Gavin Newsom and cheat Larry Elder,” by POLITICO’s Alexei Koseff.

— “Column: Larry Elder is the Black face of white supremacy. You’ve been warned,” by the LA Times' Erika D. Smith.

DELTA DEVASTATES — “COVID hospitalizations break records in six California counties,” by CalMatters’ Kristen Hwang.

— “Some Southern California church leaders pushing political extremes,” by the OC Register’s Brooke Staggs and Deepa Bharath: “Church and politics often mix. But Christian nationalism and conspiracy theories may be new elements in local sermons.”

ECONOMIC INDICATORS — “California adding jobs, but unemployment claims remain high,” by the AP’s Adam Beam: “California has averaged more than 111,000 new jobs a month since February, recovering about 58% of the 2.7 million jobs lost in March and April of 2020. … But the number of residents applying for unemployment benefits has increased four weeks in a row.”

— “Bay Area schools face coronavirus cases and quarantines: 'Parents are overwhelmed,'” by the SF Chronicle’s Jill Tucker: “The reality of positive COVID-19 cases and potential exposure in classrooms is starting to sink in for families struggling to understand how long their children need to stay home and whether these cases will result in in-school transmissions.”

H20 CUTS — “Thousands of farmers face $10,000-a-day fines if they pull water from California rivers,” by the Sac Bee’s Ryan Sabalow: “The State Water Resources Control Board began sending formal ‘curtailment notices’ to the holders of 4,500 water rights permits that allow them to pull water from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and their tributaries.”

— “To Avoid Rolling Blackouts, State Fast-Tracks Diesel-Fueled Power,” via KQED: “In an effort to stave off rolling blackouts in California, the Newsom administration is moving forward with five new energy projects set to be fueled by both natural gas and diesel.”

ROOMKEY SHORTFALLS — “L.A. had a golden opportunity to house homeless people in hotels — but fell short of its goal,” by the LA Times' Benjamin Oreskes and Doug Smith: “Since its launch, Project Roomkey has moved 9,000 people in L.A. County into private rooms. More than 2,000 of them transitioned into permanent homes. But, peaking at just over 4,200 rooms, it never got close to an ambitious goal locally of securing rooms for all the estimated 15,000 eligible homeless people, who accounted for about one-quarter of all homeless people countywide.”

— “These Southern California cities are at high risk of financial misery, auditor says,” by the L.A. Daily News’ Teri Sforza and Jason Henry: “Disneyland is open. Hotels are buzzing. But the home of the Happiest Place on Earth is now on California’s high-risk watchlist nonetheless.”

— “Delta variant likely to bring a fall and winter of masks, vaccine mandates, anxiety,” by the LA Times' Rong-Gong Lin II and Luke Money: “While there are promising signs that California’s fourth COVID-19 surge may be starting to flatten, the fall and winter will bring new challenges as people stay indoors more often and vaccine immunity begins to wane.”

— “Road to vindication for California's Barbara Lee, the only member of Congress to vote against Afghanistan war,” by the LA Times' Sarah D. Wire: “With the stunning fall of Kabul to the Taliban this week, the Oakland lawmaker has been heralded as an ignored oracle, the only member of Congress to foresee an endless war in Afghanistan that would leave thousands of Americans and Afghans dead.”

— How the Apple lobbying machine took on Georgia, and won, by POLITICO’s Emily Birnbaum: Poorly resourced state governments are no match for the lobbying firepower of Apple, the most valuable company in the world.

— “Taliban violence drives Afghans to wipe social media profiles,” by NBC News’ April Glaser and Saphora Smith: “As the Taliban maintain control of Kabul, residents across Afghanistan are racing to delete photos from their mobile phones and social media accounts that could somehow link them to people from Western nations, international human rights groups, the Afghan military or the recently collapsed Afghan government.”

— “Elon Musk claims Tesla will debut a humanoid robot next year,” by the LA Times' Russ Mitchell.

— “Mike Richards steps down as ‘Jeopardy!’ host; search for an Alex Trebek successor resumes,” by the LA Times' Stephen Battaglio and Meg James: “Now, the search for a permanent host will continue as Sony tries to find a worthy successor and move beyond the controversies that have tarnished a broadcasting institution beloved by generations of viewers.”

— “Arnold Schwarzenegger loses corporate sponsor of bodybuilding event for 'dangerous, anti-American' comment,” by Fox News’ Melissa Roberto.

RIP AMAYA — “The youngest orca at SeaWorld San Diego just died suddenly,” by CNN’s Alisha Ebrahimji.

— “Violence at anti-vaccine protest brings new criticism of LAPD tactics, claims of bias,” by the the LA Times' Kevin Rector and James Queally.

— “How Napa's Cakebread winery absolved itself of starting one of California's most destructive fires,” by the SF Chronicle's Esther Mobley.

— “Michael Morgan, Visionary Oakland Symphony Conductor, Dies at Age 63,” by KQED’s Nastia Voynovskaya.

Former Gov. Pete Wilson … Bradley Singer of WME … Stephen Miller

SUNDAY: Selena Strandberg … Google’s Eleanor Strom … Stuart A. Graiwer … Adlai W. Wertman … Facebook’s Jennifer Nedeau Helm … Sabrina Siddiqui …

SATURDAY: Sergey Brin … Peter Hamby of Snapchat and Puck … Jack Weiss

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