Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign is expected to fight against California’s new presidential primary rules during the state’s Republican Party convention at the end of September. In July, the CAGOP transitioned to a winner-take-all system, instead of allocating presidential primary delegates by Congressional district. Now if a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote state-wide, they capture all of the state’s delegates. If no candidate reaches that benchmark, delegates are awarded proportionally.
President Donald Trump leads the field in California by over 50 points, appearing to be on track to secure all of the state’s 169 delegates. DeSantis, polling a distant 2nd place with only 16 percent would be awarded no delegates, angering Tallahassee-based consultants such as Erin Perrine, the official spokesman for DeSantis’s Never Back Down political action committee (PAC).
Perrine – who previously worked for the failed Dr. Oz campaign, as well as Trump’s 2020 re-election bid – said the changes were “Trump-inspired rigging”, arguing the California GOP was “making grassroots involvement impossible.”
The CA GOP says the changes are not for any particular candidate, but instead about ensuring the party is in compliance with new Republican National Committee (RNC) rules. The RNC has emphasized the need for primary candidates to campaign across the whole state and not just specific congressional districts in which they’re competitive.
In late August, Never Back Down ended its paid door-knocking operations in California, as well as in Nevada – another state where the DeSantis campaign is accusing the state party of attempting to rig the election for Trump.
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