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Trump Woos California Republicans Amid Raucous Protests
by Mike O'Sullivan
Donald Trump took his presidential campaign to the U.S. Pacific Coast
state of California Friday, bypassing hundreds of protesters outside
the California Republican Party's annual convention south of San
Francisco, as he addressed party officials in a state that could decide
the Republican nominee for the November election.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz will speak at the gathering near San Francisco
Saturday, as his staff deploys thousands of volunteers ahead of
California's primary vote June 7. Ohio Governor John Kasich, a distant
third in the contest, spoke to delegates Friday night. All three
campaigns are coping with party rules that make the California race a
series of local battles.
Trump maneuvered past hundreds of protesters to arrive at the
California site and walked along a concrete barrier behind the hotel.
Some waved Mexican flags to protest Trump's pledge to stop illegal
immigration by building a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. "That was
not the easiest entrance I've ever made," he joked. "We went over a
fence and through a fence.... It felt like I was crossing the border."
Undecided
Undecided Republicans, including conservative Tea Party activist Mary
Jordan, are "trying to do our homework and compare notes and make the
best decision." The Tea Party California Caucus was distributing
pamphlets, and displayed a life-size cut-out of Donald Trump. "A lot of
Tea Party people are behind Ted Cruz too," said Jordan, "so we're just
watching."
Convention-goer Maria Aguila backs Trump "because we need real change
this time," she said. Aguila is Mexican American and rejects the
criticism that Trump is a racist. Her brother, Victor Aguila, also a
Trump supporter, said "he never spoke anything against Mexicans. He
spoke out against illegal immigration."
Outside the hotel, Mexican American Rosa Penate was one of many who
disagreed. She held a sign that accused Trump of racist bigotry. "It
doesn't matter the color of the skin, or culture. No matter," said
Penate. "We're human," she said, adding that she has no use for any
Republicans in the race.
''
Several protesters tried to force their way through the police line to
enter the hotel, and they advanced a few meters before police pushed
them back. Authorities say at least five were arrested. Inside, the
delegates were focused on choices and strategy.
Michael Schroeder, co-chairman of the Cruz campaign in California,
wrote the rules that govern the Republican nominating process when he
was California Republican chairman from 1997-'99.
Choosing delegates
Delegates who are pledged to a particular candidate are chosen in each
of California's 53 congressional districts, and the winning candidate
will send three delegates from that district to the Republican national
convention in July. It makes no difference, said Schroeder, who wins
the popular vote in the state. "It's 53 separate elections and not a
single election."
If Trump secures the needed 1,237 delegates from all Republican state
primaries and caucuses, he will be the nominee. If not, delegates to
the nominating convention will hold second or third votes, when they
are free to switch support to a different candidate. That could open
the door to a Cruz nomination.
''
Schroeder said the Cruz campaign has mobilized 41,000 volunteers in a
process that started last June. "We're going to call," he said. "We're
going to knock on their doors and we're going to campaign face to face.
That is something that a very organized campaign with a lot of
volunteers could do, whereas a campaign that is basically sort of a
travelling circus cannot do."
Trump complained in his speech that the process is "rigged," but he was
late to understand how the rules work, said analyst Sherry Bebitch
Jeffe of the University of Southern California.
"Donald Trump played it by ear for far too long," she said. "It has
come down to a district by district, in many states, battle for
delegates. This is as deep into the weeds as I've seen this process go
in a very long time," she said.
Political scientist Josh Putnam of the University of Georgia said for
Cruz, the strategy is simple. "Step one, keep Trump under 1,237
(pledged delegates). Step two, have delegates that are sympathetic to
you lined up to support you on a second or third ballot when more and
more delegates become unbound."
Kasich hopes waning
Hopes are waning for third-place contender John Kasich, a former
nine-term congressman who is now in his second term as Ohio's governor.
"He has character," said supporter Sue Caro.
''
"He has experience. He has balanced the budget federally but he's
balanced the budget statewide in Ohio as well. Everywhere you look,
John Kasich can show that he knows how to govern," she said.
However, barring a prolonged fight at the national convention, a Kasich
nomination is unlikely.
Trump told California Republicans Friday he would like to see
"solidarity, unity relationship, friendship" in his party. "Can I win
without it? I think so," he said. Cruz supporters say their efforts in
California could shift the tide. His announced running mate,
Californian Carly Fiorina, will address the San Francisco meeting
Saturday night.
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d-rancous-protests/3309655.html
References
1. http://www.voanews.com/content/trump-woos-california-republicans-amid-rancous-protests/3309655.html