Photo: GrassrootsLab.comCalifornia will award 172 delegates in the Republican presidential primary, a mother load of support that could guarantee a decisive national role for Golden State GOP voters on June 7. Unlike several other states in the election cycle where the winner takes all delegates, California Republicans designed special rules to empower grassroots activists a few years ago.
Illustration by Tim Foster, Capitol Weekly. Yes, this could be happening. California, despite holding its primary presidential election in June and being a (somewhat) proportional state, could matter in the Democratic nomination process. And it will almost certainly provide the final big set of Republican delegates that could give Donald Trump the 1,237 he needs for the nomination — or deny him and ensure a contested GOP convention.
Illustration by Tim Foster, Capitol WeeklyOPINION: For the experts, take your pick: “Can Donald Trump be stopped? Should he? What’s your look ahead to the general election? Are we looking at a brokered GOP convention? And what’s the outlook for Hillary?”
A view of the main floor at the state Democratic Party convention in San Jose. (Photo: Alvin Chen/Capitol Weekly)First, take 3,000 political junkies, mix in a few dozen ambitious politicians, stir thoroughly. Let simmer for three days and — Whee! — you have California’s Democratic Party Convention. It was an earnest carnival reflecting what makes California politics so much fun.
The Republican national convention in Cleveland's Public Auditorium in 1924. This year's GOP convention is in Cleveland, too. (Photo: Everett Historical, via Shutterstock)ANALYSIS: The conventional wisdom says fuggedaboutit. Pundits, campaign managers, and the politicians themselves express doubt about the possibility. Not as much as previously, but still doubt. It might happen. And California could be in the middle of it all. We’re talking about a “brokered” convention.
GOP voter support for Ted Cruz has surged in California over the past three months and the Texas Senator has now moved into a statistical tie with businessman Donald Trump for the lead in this state’s Republican presidential primary. Cruz is the first choice of 25% of likely GOP voters in the latest statewide Field Poll, while Trump is backed by 23%.