Tensions flare as California Republicans give Trump a boost by overhauling state primary rules

In a move backed by former President Trump’s campaign, the California Republican Party on Saturday changed its rules for allocating delegates in the state’s presidential primary — a shake-up that could discourage other GOP candidates from campaigning here and make the state less competitive in next year’s nominating contest.

Tensions flared as the California GOP’s executive committee approved the plan, with pro-Trump protesters denouncing the move, police getting called and two factions nearly coming to fisticuffs.

While they argued that the state party leadership was trying to undermine the former president, the decision by the California GOP’s executive committee reflects a concerted effort by the Trump campaign to mold state party rules across the country to benefit his candidacy. The Michigan Republican Party also recently changed its rules for awarding delegates in a way that’s expected to benefit Trump. Republicans in Idaho, Nevada, Louisiana and Colorado are considering other measures that could give Trump an advantage.

The new rule in California means a Republican presidential candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote in the March 5 primary will win all 169 of the state’s delegates, which is the most of any state in the nation. If no one reaches this benchmark, delegates will be awarded proportionally on the basis of the statewide vote.

State party leaders argued that the new plan will draw candidates to compete in the state.

“Today’s vote … was a massive victory for California Republicans who are eager to have a say in deciding who our Party’s 2024 presidential nominee will be,” state party chair Jessica Millan Patterson said in a statement. “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.”

Former President Trump visits with campaign volunteers July 18 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A federal judge in Florida has set a trial date for May for Trump in a case charging him with illegally retaining hundreds of classified documents.

(Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press)

But other Republicans say the plan will actually make California less competitive than if the party had stuck with some version of the system it has used for much of the last two decades, where three delegates were awarded for each congressional district won, said Jon Fleischman, who was executive director of the state party when it adopted this plan in 2000 (it didn’t go into effect until after the 2004 election).

Such a system would have allowed a candidate to strategically target a handful of areas instead of trying to campaign and advertise in an enormous state with some of the most expensive media markets in the nation.

“The net effect of passing this proposal will be no presidential campaign will be incentivized to do any campaigning in California, period,” Fleischman said. “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.”

Trump’s campaign supported the plan because polling shows he can win more than half the votes in California’s primary, allowing him to sweep up the state’s huge haul of delegates, according to an executive committee member who spoke with a campaign official.

Trump strategists also believe an earlier proposal — that the California GOP scrapped — could have helped Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, said the executive committee member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly about the conversation. Under that system, delegates would have been awarded by congressional district, with two going to the winner in each district and one delegate going to the second-place finisher. California is so big, with 52 congressional districts, that such a system would have created an enormous “consolation prize” amounting to more delegates than those awarded by multiple other states combined.

The Trump and DeSantis campaigns did not respond to requests for comment.

The California GOP would have lost half its delegates to the Republican National Convention — a huge blow to the party’s clout — if it did not change its rules. Either of the plans that were considered would have met the national party’s requirements.

California’s primary is taking place March 5, Super Tuesday, along with more than a dozen other states. While California’s overwhelming Democratic tilt means it is not competitive for the Republican presidential candidate in next November’s general election, the state could have played a significant role in deciding the Republican nominee — particularly if a candidate doesn’t take a commanding lead in earlier contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

By the time California votes, Trump could be under indictment in four separate criminal cases. Currently, he faces charges related to an alleged hush-money payment to an adult-film star in the final days of the 2016 campaign, and of mishandling and illegally possessing classified documents at his Florida home after his presidency ended. The former president is also being investigated for allegedly attempting to change Georgia election results after the 2020 election, and trying to remain in office after losing the election, including his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Trump supporters gathered outside of a California GOP executive committee meeting in Irvine on Saturday to protest a change in the state’s delegation-allocation.

(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

But that has not dampened support from his base. More than 50 Trump supporters who staged a protest at the Irvine Marriott on Saturday morning saw the California GOP’s earlier proposal as a purposeful effort to harm Trump. They were angry the decision was made by the party’s 100-member executive committee rather than more than 1,400 members at their fall convention, a reflection of conservative activists’ distrust of party leadership seen across the country. And they unsuccessfully pushed for a candidate having to receive a certain percentage of the vote to be awarded any delegates.

“There’s a part of me that does think that maybe they’re trying to take votes away from Trump, specifically, who’s coming in strong, and so they’re kind of thinking what can we do to take away votes for Trump?” said Bonnie Wallace, president of the Greater Pasadena Republican Assembly. As a state party delegate, she was able to observe the committee meeting, which was closed to the press, but unable to vote on the matter.

“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,” added Wallace, carrying a sign that read “CAGOP & RNC Why NOT TRUMP? Stop Supporting Corruption!” “You know, we need to whittle things down. We don’t have participation trophies.”

The executive committee approved the delegate-allocation plan on a 53-16 vote. State party officials said they could not wait for the convention to debate the matter because of a tight deadline to submit their plans to national Republicans.

The protest was driven in part by fury and confusion sowed on social media, where far-right activists argued that Millan Patterson and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, who effectively controls the state party, were trying to derail Trump’s candidacy.

“They are trying to change the laws so they can orchestrate a brokered convention at the National convention and steal the GOP nomination from Donald Trump,” Laura Loomer, a Trump supporter from Florida who has a history of spreading conspiracies to her large online following, wrote on Twitter on July 20. “We can’t allow [Millan Patterson] and [McCarthy] to get away with their deceptive rule changes that are designed to screw Donald Trump.”

Millan Patterson and McCarthy did not respond to requests for comment on the accusations.

Two factions of Trump supporters nearly came to blows outside of a California GOP executive committee meeting on Saturday at the Irvine Marriott.

(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

Protesters wearing red “Make America Great Again” caps and carrying American, Trump and “Don’t Tread on Me” Gadsden flags gathered outside of the committee meeting, chanting Trump’s name and “America First!” After they tried to enter the meeting and were blocked by security guards, Irvine police officers showed up and tried to cool emotions. Later, two pro-Trump factions began screaming at each other, with one accusing the other of being white nationalists and the other responding that their foes supported open borders.

They started jostling with one another and nearly came to blows until other protesters stepped between the two groups.

Anna Bryson from Laguna Niguel, an executive committee member, was inside the meeting room but knew something problematic was occurring outside because she heard raised voices and then saw security guards race out of the room.

Two pro-Trump factions began screaming at each other outside of a California GOP executive committee meeting on Saturday at the Irvine Marriott.

(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

“We have to fight for a vote at the polls. Not one another. Focus people,” said Bryson, who supported the rule change. “Get your friends and neighbors out to vote for the Republican Party. And if you all are fighting with one another, you’re not out there going door to door and talking about our great candidates.”