Former president Donald Trump is scheduled to speak Friday at the California Republican Party convention in Anaheim in an appearance aimed at sweeping the state’s 169 delegates in the March presidential primary. The appearance follows his refusal to participate in this week’s GOP debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley and as he confronts four criminal indictments in his bid to retake the White House.
Under new state party rules, a presidential candidate who garners a majority of votes in the primary wins all 169 of California’s delegates — the largest cache of any state in the country. If no candidate wins a majority, then the delegates would be split among the contenders based on the percentage of vote each candidate won.
“He wants to make sure he locks down that very large slate of delegates,” said Jack Pitney, who teaches political science at Claremont McKenna College. “That will take him a long way toward locking down the nomination.”
Trump is also likely looking to regain the national attention gained by his opponents at the debate with an eye toward audiences in the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, Pitney said.
Three other presidential candidates also are scheduled to address the convention: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
Trump sold out
Trump will speak at the Anaheim Convention Center instead of a ballroom at the Marriott Hotel where Republicans are meeting because interest in seeing the former president is so high, according to Steve Frank, who publishes the GOP newsletter California Political News and Views. Tickets to the event are $600 each and have been sold out for weeks, he said. Desantis tickets are $250 a piece.
The former president is popular among California Republicans.
A poll released in August by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and the Los Angeles Times showed about 55% of likely GOP voters plan to cast their primary ballots for Trump. Only 16% of voters said they’d support DeSantis, the second place finisher.
“California Republicans are no different than Republicans around the country,” said political consultant and former state party executive director Jon Fleischman. He said the idea that the state’s Republicans are more moderate is a “myth.”
“We have an open primary system in California, so most moderate Republicans have gone off and become ’decline to state’ voters,” he said.
Republicans comprise 24% of the state’s registered voters. Democrats make up 47%. People who list themselves as “No Party Preference” make up 23%.
The GOP has not won a statewide race since 2006.
Changing the platform
Some are hoping to change the state party’s platform to appeal to more moderate voters.
A party committee will consider an alternative platform that would end the state GOP’s opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage, among other things.
“We value protecting innocent life and want to see the number of abortions reduced,” the proposed platform language states. “We support adoption as an alternative to abortion and call on lawmakers to reduce the bureaucratic burden placed on adoptive couples.”
Charles Moran , a political consultant and a delegate to the convention, is among those pushing for the change.
“My main objective is to ensure that we have the most competitive position possible,” he said. Moran added that he wants the platform to be “a flexible, breathing document … not an albatross hanging around the neck of candidates.”
Republican candidates for office are not obligated to follow the party platform, but Democratic opponents often use it against them in races.
Polls show Californians overwhelmingly support abortion rights. The Public Policy Institute of California found more than three-quarters of adults opposed lifting federal protections for access to abortions — including 59% of Republicans.
Uphill battle
Nonetheless, changing the party platform on abortion and same-sex marriages is an uphill battle given delegates to the convention tend to be the most conservative party members. Fleischman called it an attempt to “water down” the platform.
GOP political consultant Mike Madrid has long blasted the California party. “The party has not adjusted in 25 or 30 years,” he told Capitol Weekly this month. “We need to stop assuming the Republican Party is trying to be relevant — they are not.”
The party is more of a regional one in California, competing in only some parts of an overwhelmingly blue state. Both parties are closely watching six congressional races next year that could influence which controls the House of Representatives.
The fight over school boards
In addition, the party has scheduled various seminars at this weekend’s convention, including one designed to recruit people to run for school boards around the state, even though those are non-partisan positions.
“We’re planning to field as many candidates as possible for those positions,” said Shawn Steel, a member of the National Republican Committee and delegate in California. School boards are a flashpoint in the culture wars over transgender rights and critical race theory curricula.
There’s a “new generation” of teachers and administrators who are committed to making schools into a “social experiment,” said Steel, who organized the seminar.
Glendale was the site of a recent fight over LGBTQ rights over the summer. Police arrested at least three people in June outside a Glendale Unified school board meeting after clashes between pro- and anti-LGBTQ+ protesters.
The fights broke out as the school board was set to vote on a resolution recognizing June as Pride Month and committing to what the board calls a "safe, inclusive, and nurturing environment" for all students. That resolution ultimately passed.
