The California Republican Party’s executive committee on Saturday voted 53 to 19 to adopt a change to the way delegates are awarded in next year’s state presidential primary seen as likely to seriously advantage fat former President Trump against his rivals, the Los Angeles Times reports.
For most of the last two decades, candidates were awarded 3 delegates per congressional district won, a system that allowed campaigns to target certain regions strategically rather than have to take on the whole state and spend ad money in some very expensive media markets. Under the new rules, if any candidate pulls in more than 50 percent of the vote in the March 5, 2024 primary they automatically win all 169 of the Golden State’s RNC delegates. Trump’s campaign favored this option as polling shows he can probably win a majority. If he falls short the delegates will be awarded to each candidate proportionally, which is still preferable to the district-by-district system.
“Smoke filled back rooms do not reflect the will of or benefit voters in any state. Yet across the country games are afoot to enhance the potential outcome of primary elections for one former president who half of the Republican electorate no longer wants as the party leader,” bitched former Trump Acting Deputy DHS Secretary and current DeSantis PAC chieftain Ken Cuccinelli in response to the change in California and similar moves made by other state Republican parties.