THE BUZZ — Republicans are contending with some high-stakes questions ahead of 2024 — and they’re all going to be laid bare this weekend in Southern California. Delegates are enroute to Orange County, where they’ll pack into ballrooms and banquet halls down the road from Disneyland for the California Republican Party’s fall convention. Combined with the presidential debate in Simi Valley on Wednesday, this week is a rare moment of relevance for the party that is so often pushed to the margins in Democratic-dominated California. The next three days will shed some light on where the GOP is heading as it ramps up for 2024. THE TRUMP FACTOR: The hottest ticket of the weekend is a spot to see former President Donald Trump deliver lunchtime remarks today. Even at $600 a pop, party officials say they’re expecting 1,500 people to attend. The former president will have to share the spotlight with other candidates, including South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy, who are also scheduled to speak at the convention. Trump is still popular with Republicans in California, and his nomination appears for now to be a foregone conclusion. His presence may cause friction as some delegates look to broaden their appeal to voters. HEADACHES IN THE HOUSE: As our colleague Melanie Mason writes today, this weekend presents a conundrum for candidates in vulnerable congressional districts who are wary of being bogged down by the national party and Trump. It’s a dilemma for the party in a year where maintaining control of California’s House seats is critical if Republicans — and Speaker Kevin McCarthy — want to stay in power. PLATFORM: As we wrote about Thursday, tempers are expected to flare this weekend in a fight over how the California GOP defines itself. Factions are warring over whether to stay true to their conservative roots or try to appeal to a broader audience by cutting out major planks like opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — TROLL LEVEL 1,000: Democrats are rolling out a welcome wagon of their own for the convention — one that blasts DeSantis for flying migrants to California under dubious pretenses. Assemblymember Evan Low, a Democrat from Silicon Valley, told Playbook that he’s rented a mobile advertising truck to circle outside the convention hall displaying an LED billboard that reads, “Hey Governor DeSantis. Asylum is legal, fraud is a crime.” The truck will also play a video of Low, Newsom and other officials denouncing the migrant flights. In the video, Low says DeSantis lured 36 migrants onto “planes with false promises of shelter, jobs and food in California.” He adds, “They were then flown into Sacramento and dumped like garbage.” Low’s office said he’s paying for the ads and a related website, investigateron.com, using campaign funds. The ad truck is scheduled to circle the convention hall today and tomorrow. The assemblyman has also introduced a resolution calling for the U.S Department of Justice to investigate DeSantis. The Florida governor has accused Democrats of exacerbating problems at the U.S.-Mexico border by creating “sanctuary jurisdictions.” PLAYBOOK TIP LINE — Are you going to the CA GOP convention? See or hear something interesting? Give us a ring or drop us a line. Now you can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts now. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on Twitter —@DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced. | 
