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ANAHEIM — Despite being a bastion of liberalism and the home base to Democratic heavyweights including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Gavin Newsom, California is a political keystone for former President Trump and his 2024 campaign.
For most of the nation, California is an afterthought in the race for the Republican presidential nomination due to its overwhelmingly leftward leanings, but the state is critical to Trump’s effort to return to the White House.
“California has always been a big part of President Trump’s campaign strategy,” said Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump’s 2024 campaign and a Sacramento native. “Californians know there is one person who can supercharge the economy, secure our border, and safeguard communities — President Trump.”
Wealthy donors, the most Republican voters of any state in the nation, a deep bench of conservative leaders and an enormous cache of GOP presidential delegates mean the state is in play — even if it’s outside of public view. And the former president, who will speak to California GOP delegates in Anaheim on Friday and is holding at least two Southern California fundraisers this week, has long shown an affinity for the Golden State.
“Trump is drawn to the spotlight, and this is the state that first created the spotlight,” said veteran GOP strategist Kevin Spillane, who has opposed Trump since the 2016 election.
Former California GOP Chairman Jim Brulte said that the state’s delegates were Trump’s most loyal during his 2016 campaign, when his nomination was vulnerable.
Brulte also noted that a number of the former president’s top donors live in California, and that he has raised an enormous amount of money in the state, as candidates of both major parties do.
“I think California has a special place in Trump world,” the former state legislative leader said.
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Money
Long called the ATM for politics, California is home to some of the biggest donors to Trump and his political machine.
Despite California’s blue lean, its donors send millions to politicians of both parties.
In 2020, residents of the state donated more than $92 million to his campaign and to super PACs and other groups that supported his unsuccessful reelection effort, according to the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics. Four years prior, the then-novice candidate and political groups that supported him received $20.4 million from Californians for his effort, the second-most from any state in the nation.
Many of Trump’s top donors live in the state and were rewarded for their generosity.
Real estate investor Tom Barrack, a longtime ally, was a senior advisor to Trump’s 2016 campaign and chairman of his inauguration, for which he reportedly raised more than $100 million.
In 2022, Barrack said he was done with politics after being found not guilty of illegal foreign lobbying on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. He also told Bloomberg News in July that he wouldn’t advise Trump in 2024.
Billionaire real estate developer Geoff Palmer was among the top donors to Trump’s 2016 effort, contributing more than $5 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Other major California donors were rewarded for their support: Former Dodgers Chief Executive Jamie McCourt was named ambassador to France and Monaco. Philanthropist Carla Sands, the widow of a real estate mogul, became ambassador to Denmark.
Trump plans to collect another round of campaign cash when he visits California this week. On Friday night, donors who contribute $100,000 can join the former president at a roundtable in Beverly Hills to raise funds for a super PAC backing his campaign. On Saturday, the former president will be at an Orange County fundraiser that costs up to $23,200 per couple.
In California, Trump’s ability to raise cash and his overall support don’t appear to be dimmed by the fact that he faces criminal charges in Washington, D.C., New York, Georgia and Florida, and in March is scheduled to go on trial on federal charges that he illegally sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
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People
In addition to donors, California is home to many prominent members of Trump’s campaigns and his administration — a fact that is unsurprising given the number of powerful conservative organizations in the state, said Charles Moran, a Los Angeles delegate to the state GOP and president of Log Cabin Republicans.
“Even though it’s a very blue voter state, California still continues to produce a lot of really important dynamics in Republican politics,” he said.
The state is home to conservative organizations such as the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, the Claremont Institute in Upland and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, which contributes to the late president’s library in Simi Valley, the site of Wednesday’s GOP debate, Moran noted.
“You’ve got a lot of thought leadership that originates in this state,” he said. “This state still has a cachet to it and a lot of brainpower for conservatives.”
Californians who held pivotal roles in Trump’s White House and campaigns include:
Stephen K. Bannon
(Alex Brandon / Associated Press)
The former chairman of Breitbart News, which was founded in a Westwood basement, was chief executive officer of Trump’s 2016 campaign, and after the election served as senior counselor to the then-president for several months.
In 2020, Bannon and others were accused by a federal grand jury of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering through a campaign to build a border wall. Trump pardoned Bannon shortly before his term ended. However, New York state prosecutors pursued the allegations, and a trial is expected next year.
In July of 2022, Bannon was convicted of two criminal charges over his refusal to comply with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. He is appealing.
John Eastman
(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)
The constitutional law professor and dean at Chapman University’s law school retired after protests over his speech at the rally before the Jan. 6 attack, when he falsely claimed that Georgia ballot machines had been rigged to favor Biden and then-Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff.
Eastman is one of Trump’s 18 co-defendants in a George criminal case, charged with participating in a conspiracy to interfere with the 2020 election results. He pleaded not guilty earlier this month.
Richard Grenell
(Susan Walsh/AP)
The controversial Coachella Valley resident was the first openly gay person to serve a president at the Cabinet level as Trump’s acting director of national intelligence. He also served as ambassador to Germany from 2018 to 2020, and as special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations from 2019 to 2021.
Stephen Miller
(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)
The Santa Monica native, a senior policy advisor and director of speechwriting for Trump, was instrumental in shaping some of the former president’s most prominent and controversial policies, including the ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries early in Trump’s administration, and the separation of migrant children from their parents. Miller also helped write Trump’s inaugural speech as well as his remarks at the rally that preceded the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Steven T. Mnuchin
(Patrick Semansky / Associated Press)
The wealthy investment banker, a New York native, has deep ties to California, with a home here and investments in dozens of Hollywood films. He is credited as an executive producer of movies including “Jersey Boys,” “American Sniper,” “The Lego Movie” and “Wonder Woman.”
The national finance chair for Trump’s 2016 campaign, Mnuchin served as Treasury secretary for the entirety of the Republican’s administration.
Peter Navarro
(Patrick Semansky / Associated Press)
The former UC Irvine professor served as a trade advisor to Trump. He was convicted of contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. Navarro, who faces up to a year in jail as well as fines, is expected to be sentenced in January. His attorneys have moved for a mistrial.
Robert O’Brien
(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)
O’Brien was Trump’s final national security advisor. He previously served in the administration as the nation’s lead hostage negotiator, including attending the trial of American rapper ASAP Rocky in Stockholm at the then-president’s behest. He also helped extricate Americans from Turkey, Iran and Yemen.
The prominent Los Angeles lawyer previously served in the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Several prominent members of Trump’s 2024 campaign, including senior advisor Brian Jack, spokesman Jason Miller and Cheung also have California ties.
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Delegates
California has the most delegates of any state in the nation — roughly 14% of the number required for a Republican presidential candidate to secure the party’s nomination.
The Trump campaign has worked hard to mold state party rules across the nation, including in California, to benefit his presidential bid. It’s a remarkable shift from his 2016 effort, which a veteran GOP lawyer described as “five guys on a pirate ship who did not have the organization to go out and really work the rules.”
Critics argue that former President Trump’s success in changing state party rules, including in California, to benefit his candidacy harms voters.
If the former president’s standing in the polls holds up, he is well-positioned to win all of California’s delegates.
A September UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by The Times indicates that about 55% of the state’s likely Republican voters plan to cast their primary ballots for Trump. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ support has plummeted to less than half of what he had earlier this year.
“Californians have turned away, by and large, from DeSantis,” Mark DiCamillo, director of the UC Berkeley institute’s poll, said when it was released. “The biggest beneficiary of DeSantis’ decline is the former president. There’s no question he’s well-liked by the Republican base.”
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Voters
California has the most Republican voters in the nation due to its sheer size. In 2020, Trump received 6 million votes here, and in 2016 he won the backing of 4.5 million Californians.
Spillane urged Republicans to pay more attention to the state’s voters; even if their candidate is unlikely to win the state in the general election, those ballots matter, he said.
A UC Berkeley/L.A. Times poll finds Republicans strongly favor Trump in California’s 2024 primary, though voters are concerned about his and Biden’s vulnerabilities.
Trump lost the popular vote in 2016 and George W. Bush lost it in 2000, yet both won enough support in the electoral college to win the White House.
“I want to see a Republican actually win a majority of the national vote,” Spillane said. “It’s not good for the country to have presidents elected with an electoral college majority, not a popular-vote majority. I would prefer to see presidents carrying both.”
