Newsletter: Essential Politics: Clean sweep boosts Trump delegate count

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

One man leaned forward, declaring himself the nominee. The other pulled back, declaring his goal was to influence the party’s platform, not to win its nomination.

One guess which was which.

“I consider myself the presumptive nominee. Absolutely,” Donald Trump said after a clean sweep of Tuesday’s East Coast primaries. “We’re going to win on the first ballot.”

Trump not only claimed status as the guy who will make it to the general election, he added his prediction for Nov. 8: “We will beat Hillary so easily.”

Hillary Clinton had her share of nasty words for the Republican front-runner after winning four of the five states.

“We will unify our party to win this election and build an America where we can all rise together,” Clinton said in Philadelphia. “An America where we lift each other up instead of tearing each other down.”

Her rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, issued a statement lauding Clinton on her victories and promising he would not end his campaign. But the drive, it seems, is no longer to win the Democratic presidential nomination. The Vermont senator said he would stay in “until the last vote is cast” in June, and then outlined his agenda for July.

“This campaign is going to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia with as many delegates as possible to fight for a progressive party platform that calls for a $15 an hour minimum wage, an end to our disastrous trade policies, a Medicare-for-all health care system, breaking up Wall Street financial institutions, ending fracking in our country, making public colleges and universities tuition free and passing a carbon tax so we can effectively address the planetary crisis of climate change,” Sanders said in a late-night statement.

The remarks came not many hours after Sanders showcased again Tuesday how he fares better than Clinton in a general election.

It’s not a surprise, given Clinton now has 90% of the delegates required to clinch the nomination, but could dampen enthusiasm among his most fervent supporters, especially in California, which does not vote for six weeks.

As for Trump, he took time to bash his two rivals and decry what he called “collusion” between Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

“Now he’s 1 in 46. Why is he here?” Trump said of the governor. “Senator Cruz and Gov. Kasich should really get out of the race. ... We should heal the Republican Party.”

He trumpeted his own huge margins that netted him enough delegates so that he is now just 287 shy of the 1,237 he needs.

As the race heads to Indiana, keep an eye on Trail Guide and follow @latimespolitics.

DISNEYLAND’S HOMETOWN CLASHES OVER TRUMP

Supporters and opponents of Trump clashed at Anaheim City Hall on Tuesday as the City Council considered a resolution denouncing the candidate for rhetoric he’s used on the campaign trail. Deliberation went late into the night and ultimately the council voted to take no action.

Before the meeting, both sides were screaming obscenities at each other outside. At some point, protesters on either side fired pepper spray at each other.

Anaheim, of course, is home to the Happiest Place on Earth.

A WHOLE LOTTA FREE GOLF

Being a politician in California has some nice perks. Just look at the sports events they got into for free last year thanks to gifts from utilities, unions, law firms and others: a Los Angeles Dodgers playoff game, the deciding game where the Golden State Warriors beat the Houston Rockets to advance to the NBA finals and the U.S. Open in Washington State.

Javier Panzar took a look at the more than $32,000 worth of sporting events lawmakers reported as gifts, and put them in a spreadsheet you can sort through.

CONGRESSWOMAN’S DAUGHTER RUNNING FOR SCHOOL BOARD

When Laura Capps decided against running to succeed her mother, Rep. Lois Capps, in Congress, she said it wasn’t the right time for her and her family. Capps, a former speechwriter for Bill Clinton and aide to Edward M. Kennedy, is married to former White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton.

Now, a year later, their son Oscar is playing a big part in fueling her next political step: seeking a seat on the Santa Barbara school board.

“I’m a Santa Barbara kid,” she told the Santa Barbara Independent on Tuesday after she launched a campaign video highlighting her life story. “As my (4-year-old) son starts kindergarten in the fall, I want to strengthen our schools for his generation and beyond.”

The school board race should be a tad less stressful then the crowded nine-person congressional race.

A PUSH TO DEREGULATE TAXIS

As Uber and Lyft continue steady growth, taxi companies and drivers have complained their industry is regulated much tougher than the ride-hailing companies. Democratic Assemblyman Evan Low, who represents a Silicon Valley district, agrees. Liam Dillon reports that Low is pushing a new bill to deregulate the taxi industry, allowing taxi drivers to set prices and streamline licensing requirements. But not all in the taxi industry are enthusiastic about the bill, with one union saying it wouldn’t offer enough protections to drivers and consumers.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

— Steve Lopez introduces readers to a Loyola student who built a “Trump wall” on campus.

— Sen. Barbara Boxer and members of environmental groups including California billionaire Tom Steyer’s NexGen Climate stood outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to urge the Senate to consider President Obama’s pick to succeed Justice Antonin Scalia, Judge Merrick Garland. The senator argued that a divided court would set back progress on environmental issues.

— Boxer’s chief of staff Laura Schiller is going to work for Clinton’s campaign as congressional liaison.

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

LOGISTICS

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