Posts Tagged: presidential campaigns

CA120: California is the gorilla in the 2020 primary closet

A voter casts a ballot in the 2016 primary election in Ventura County. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)

by PAUL MITCHELL posted 02.15.2019

In 2016 California had a late primary, and it looked like the Golden State would deliver deciding votes in both the Republican and Democratic nominations. If it weren’t for Trump’s victory in Indiana just weeks before, California would have been the last stand for Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, John Kasich and others who were mounting a late push to block a Trump nomination.

Early primary ratchets up the pressure

Political buttons emblazoned with a message for voters. (Photo illustration: Digital Storm, via Shutterstock)

by CHUCK MCFADDEN posted 12.05.2018

Because it’s set an earlier date for primary election voting, California is now destined to play a more important role in 2020’s presidential campaigns. Candidates who ignore that new fact of political life will “get their asses kicked,” says one of the state’s top political consultants. “People in California are voting on the morning of the Iowa caucuses,” added campaign strategist Ace Smith.