Though the presidential race is focused on
upcoming East Coast contests, the three remaining Republican candidates
are already turning their attention west as they ramp up their efforts
ahead of California’s June 7 primary, which probably will decide the
fiercely competitive race for the GOP nomination.
Sen. Ted Cruz of
Texas held a raucous rally Monday in the conservative bastion of Orange
County. Front-runner Donald Trump is hiring staff and inquiring about
airtime on Los Angeles television stations. Ohio Gov. John Kasich is
looking for office space and rolling out endorsements.
Cruz and Kasich committed to speak at the state Republican Party
convention at the end of the month, giving them a chance to woo the
party’s most committed activists and potential delegates. And veteran
GOP strategists have launched an anti-Trump effort, convinced that the
state offers the last chance to stop him from winning the nomination.
Californians,
long used to being irrelevant in national politics and ignored by
candidates, are almost giddy over all the attention.
“I have never seen this level of excitement and
engagement among our California Republican voters and activists as we
are seeing right now,” said Harmeet Dhillon, the state party’s vice
chairwoman. “It's always been game over by the time the primary rolls
around to California.” Election 2016 | Live coverage on Trail Guide | Track the delegate race | Sign up for the newsletter
The
enthusiasm was visible at the Cruz rally in Irvine, where he addressed
more than 1,000 cheering supporters in a sweltering, standing-room-only
hotel ballroom. He paid homage to Ronald Reagan, who relied upon Orange
County Republicans in his gubernatorial and presidential races.
“This
is the birthplace of the Reagan revolution and let me tell you, there
is a new revolution brewing,” Cruz said. “And just like in 1980 it’s
going to be California that’s going to decide, California that’s going
to lead the way.”
Cruz also spoke at a rally in San Diego on
Monday night. Those were the first public appearances in the state by a
GOP candidate since it became clear that none of the Republicans would
win the nomination before California’s primary. The state’s voters will
play a decisive role in the Republican nomination process for the first
time in more than half a century.
Of
the three candidates, Cruz has an edge because he began organizing in
California last summer and recruited two former state party chairmen —
one of whom conceived the state’s complicated rules for awarding
presidential delegates.
“We anticipated early on that this primary
could easily come down to the state of California, and that in fact is
what has happened,” Cruz said in an interview.
Cruz has begun to
pick up the backing of establishment Republicans across the nation as
the best alternative to stop Trump. On Monday, the campaign announced
the support of 50 current and former elected officials in California.
Cruz
had previously rolled out a 119-member leadership team in the state.
And he met privately last week with more than 200 of his potential
delegates during a fundraising trip to Orange County.
The delegate
recruitment strategy is one that Cruz has successfully deployed against
Trump, enabling him to snatch away delegates even in states where Trump
far outperformed the senator.
Kasich and Trump only recently launched their efforts here.
The
Ohio governor, who trails Trump and Cruz badly in the delegate count
and in the polls, has insisted he will continue his campaign through
California. He is recruiting staff, said Rick Caruso, his California
co-chairman.
“His team is mobilizing out here. They’re going to make a big push here,” Caruso said.
Caruso
said he believed that Kasich, who has won only his home state, could
resonate with California Republicans because he is not as strident as
Trump or Cruz.
“He’s much more moderate on social issues,” said Caruso, a billionaire developer.
Kasich
has announced a handful of California endorsements, notably former Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger. The movie star is expected to campaign with
Kasich in California, though it’s unclear how much that would help given
that Schwarzenegger was deeply unpopular when he left office in 2011.
A
super PAC backing Kasich plans a seven-figure television, digital and
phone effort in the Bay Area, where surveys have shown he has the
greatest strength.
Trump has suffered setbacks in recent weeks
because of a lack of a traditional campaign organization, causing him to
shake up his staff and add more seasoned operatives. Last week, Trump
hired Washington insider Paul Manafort to manage his convention and
delegate strategy.
In California, he is still relying on
volunteers while his campaign interviews prospective staff members. He
has not yet committed to attend the state GOP convention.
Ted
Costa, a longtime conservative activist who is helping Trump round up
delegates, cited the candidate’s large California Facebook following as
an important asset.
“When Trump pulls up his airplane out there at
the airport, all of a sudden they’ll be there,” said Costa, who
launched the successful 2003 recall of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
Throughout most of the campaign, Trump has relied upon the
enormous amount of free airtime he gets on the television news and cable
shows to get his message out. But in California, the businessman turned
reality TV star is considering paying to air ads, a costly proposition
in a state that is home to some of the nation’s most expensive media
markets.
His team has made inquiries to television stations about
the availability of advertising airtime starting April 25, shortly
before mail voting begins, said Sheri Sadler Wolf, a veteran Democratic
media consultant. The formal request typically occurs shortly before an
actual purchase of airtime.
Trump and his polarizing views are
causing heartburn for many of the state’s establishment Republicans, who
fear that he will further set back a party that last elected a GOP
candidate statewide a decade ago. This prompted three veteran Republican
operatives with ties to some of the state’s top donors to launch a
super PAC aimed at stopping him from clinching the nomination in
California.
“It’s our state, and if we’re the last line
of defense, we’re going to do our part to stop him,” said Rob Stutzman,
who worked for Schwarzenegger and on 2010 gubernatorial candidate Meg
Whitman’s unsuccessful run.
Stutzman is joined by Richard Temple
and Ray McNally, whose firm has worked for former Presidents George W.
Bush and George H.W. Bush, former Gov. Pete Wilson and entities
associated with influential GOP donor Charles Munger Jr.
Their goal is to boost Cruz by targeting specific congressional
districts. Nearly all of California’s 172 delegates are awarded by
district.
“A vote for Cruz is a vote for an open convention,” Stutzman said, “and obviously that’s the objective at this point.” Times staff writer M news, follow @LATSeema on Twitter. MORE CAMPAIGN NEWS 'We need an outsider like Trump,' says this two-time Obama voter Cruz outmaneuvering Trump in behind-the-scenes battles for delegates Skelton: Delegate math doesn't add up for Bernie Sanders in California
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