The California Republican Party changed its rules for delegates in the state’s presidential primary, a move that could benefit former President Donald Trump.
QUICK FACTS:
- The Republican Party in the state of California has changed its rules for allocating delegates in the presidential primaries, giving a potential boost to President Trump.
- The new rule would allow the Republican presidential candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote in the March 5 primary to win all 169 delegates from California, more than any state in the nation.
- If no candidate reaches the 50%, delegates would be awarded proportionally based on the statewide vote.
- State party Chair Jessica Millan Patterson said the rule would be a positive thing, as it would force Republican presidential candidates to spend more time campaigning in the Democrat-run state.
- “Republican presidential candidates will not only be encouraged to spend real time campaigning in our state and making their case to voters, but Republican voters will equally be encouraged to turn out to support their chosen candidate to help them win delegates,” Patterson said.
- Jon Fleischman, executive director of the state GOP in 2000, argued that the plan would make California less competitive than if the party sticks with its original voting system, in which three delegates are awarded for each congressional district won.
- “The net effect of passing this proposal will be no presidential campaign will be incentivized to do any campaigning in California, period,” Fleischman contends. “The cost to advertise statewide is too great and the impact of trying to motivate volunteers is too small. So they will go to other states and ignore California in the primary, as they ignore California in the general election.”
PASADENA REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT BONNIE WALLACE ON ALLOWING THE TOP CANDIDATE TO ADVANCE:
“What I heard in there is, ‘Oh, we need to open this up so all the candidates are welcome. … If they get 5% of the vote, they’ll get something,” Wallace said. “You know, we need to whittle things down. We don’t have participation trophies.”
BACKGROUND:
- In the inaugural New York Times/Siena College poll for the 2024 presidential race, former President Donald J. Trump is revealed to be in a commanding position, far outpacing his Republican rivals, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
- Trump’s lead over DeSantis among the anticipated Republican primary voters is a striking 37 points on a national level.
- Trump’s hold over the Republican electorate appears impervious to demographics or geography, as his popularity remains resolute in virtually every category and across the country.
- The Times/Siena poll showcases Trump’s unshaken grip over the Republican Party, and his broad support among diverse demographic groups, encompassing both genders, various age groups, different education levels, and locales ranging from urban to rural.
- In June 2021, California gathered enough signatures to trigger an election to attempt to recall Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
- The secretary of state’s office confirmed the recall after it announced that the effort had enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
- In accordance with California election law, however, voters were given 30 business days to request that their signature be removed from the petition if they wished. That period lasted from April 26 to June 8.
- Only 43 signatures were withdrawn from the recall petition, according to the secretary of state’s office, bringing the total number of verified signatures to 1,719,900, which “still meet[s] the threshold to initiate a recall election.”
- The total number of signatures required to trigger an election was 1,495,709.
- Newsom’s recall election marked the second time in California’s history that a recall effort triggered a ballot, out of 55 attempts.
- A poll released at the time revealed that 51% of likely voters in California would vote to remove the Newsom from office, while only 40% would vote to retain him.
