Joe Biden’s re-election campaign is deploying California Gov. Gavin Newsom to the second Republican presidential debate next week in Simi Valley, Calif., Biden campaign advisers tell Axios.

Why it matters: It’s the latest example of Biden’s increasingly warm relationship with Newsom after earlier tensions between the two — and comes as the California governor continues to build his national profile.

Driving the news: GOP frontrunner Donald Trump isn’t likely to attend the GOP debate Wednesday, but Biden’s team also is deploying top officials — including campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez — to contrast the president’s agenda with what they call “MAGA Republicans’ extreme and out of touch views.”

[This is more and more interesting, no? Newsom crawls down from absconding with children, and now he’s Biden’s rep at a GOP precedential primary function. Talk about grooming for the succession…and say “Goodnight,” Kamala. ~ Beege]