California Democrats need to address the affordability crisis to help struggling residents, but their plan to accomplish this goal seems rather tone-deaf.
To raise money for the upcoming midterm elections, the California Democratic Party and Senate Pro Tem Monique Limón are hosting a two-day golf and spa retreat for lobbyists and special interests at an elite luxury resort — and the staggering price tag climbs as high as $100,000, according to an invitation obtained by The Post.
The whopping cost and weird optics of the “Pro Tem Cup 2026,” which will take place March 20 to 22 at the Omni La Costa Spa and Resort in Carlsbad, have caused lobbyists and even Democratic colleagues to shudder.
“What are we doing here?” a Sacramento lobbyist crowed to The Post. “I would not recommend to my clients to pay $100,000 for this. That’s an obscene amount of f—ing money.”
Studies have found the cost of living in California — reportedly 11% above the national average — has become crushing for many residents, with absurdly high taxes in major cities largely to blame.
A webpage for the California Democratic Party, which immediately opens to a pop-up requesting a donation, notes that the party is “taking on the high cost of living by putting working families first, not corporate special interests.”
No mention is made of the Carlsbad spa and golf retreat.
The price range for the weekend ranges from a $40,000 premium package — giving a solo Dem supporter a two-night hotel stay, access to golf and spa, two dinners, and commemorative gifts — to a $70,000 “gold” package for a pair and a $100,000 “platinum” package for a foursome.
“To pay a hundred thousand dollars to stay at an event with hundreds of other lobbyists who are trying to get the attention of maybe 15 senators, there’s just no ROI on that,” said a second state lobbyist.
“You could spend a lot less money and get a lot more attention.”
Officials for the state Democratic Party and Limón did not respond to The Post’s request for comment, but sources told The Post that previous events weren’t nearly this expensive.
Consulting firm Bertolina and Barnato, which has previously worked on campaigns for Gov. Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential run, was in charge of handling RSVPs for the event.
A Democratic official in the state Senate scoffed at the event’s price tag while noting that the event has become a longstanding tradition that elicits eye rolls.
“They do this every year, and honestly, we just look forward to the senator being gone for the weekend,” the source said.
The Omni La Costa is a sprawling luxury resort about 30 miles north of San Diego. The 400-acre property features two championship golf courses, an enormous spa complex, multiple resort pools, and several upscale restaurants, all arranged around manicured fairways and palm-lined courtyards.
Nightly rooms routinely run several hundred dollars, and the resort markets itself as a destination for “wellness” getaways and high-end conferences.
The lobbyist who said they wouldn’t recommend the retreat to their clients suggested the California Democratic Party is in a tailspin after last month’s convention in San Francisco.
The party gave out few endorsements, and a crowded field of candidates for governor is now risking handing the general election to two Republican candidates — former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
During the convention, party chair Rusty Hicks told The Post he wasn’t concerned about the number of Democratic candidates running in the June primary, while other party officials worried about “zombie campaigns” devouring Dems’ chances to make the runoff.
But this week, Hicks pivoted in an open letter calling on low-polling candidates to drop out of the race.
“What does that say about the state of our Democratic Party,” the source said, “while we do these golf and spa things for $100,000?”
