{"id":263481,"date":"2026-04-12T03:54:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T03:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/263481\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T03:54:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T03:54:19","slug":"california-republicans-face-off-for-partys-endorsement-ahead-of-spring-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/263481\/","title":{"rendered":"California Republicans face off for party’s endorsement ahead of spring primary"},"content":{"rendered":"

The California Republican Party will make endorsements of the candidates running for office \u2014 including for the state\u2019s next governor \u2014 on Sunday during the final day of the California Republican Convention in San Diego.<\/p>\n

Candidates made their plea for endorsement to the party\u2019s delegates at the convention, held at the Sheraton San Diego Resort on Harbor Island, on Saturday \u2014 with promises to root out alleged misuse of spending, push forward voter identification initiatives and boost affordability in the state.<\/p>\n

The party faces what could be an uphill battle to win in the majority Democratic state, and is also coming off the loss of Proposition 50 last year, in which voters overwhelmingly voted to redistrict the state to benefit Democrats.<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges, Republican candidates and convention attendees showed up hopeful for their odds \u2014 with especially strong enthusiasm behind the two candidates for governor, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News commentator Steven Hilton.<\/p>\n

\"RiversideRiverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a candidate for governor, speaks at a candidate forum during the 2026 California Republican Party Spring Convention. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis election has always been ours for the taking,\u201d said Bianco. \u201cIt is up to us \u2014 conservative, common-sense Republicans \u2014 to show proven leadership, compassion and integrity matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hilton has been endorsed by President Donald Trump \u2014 a development some expect could hurt his chances of winning in the largely blue state.<\/p>\n

But many of the candidates expressed support and alignment with the Trump administration and its policies, including efforts to ban transgender athletes in women\u2019s and girls\u2019 sports and abolish sanctuary cities, which limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n

\"CaliforniaCalifornia gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton speaks during a candidate forum at the 2026 California Republican Party Spring Convention. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a whole new story in California,\u201d Hilton said. \u201cWe are going to play our part in (Trump\u2019s) golden age for America.\u201d<\/p>\n

That support for Trump was on full display at the convention, with loud cheers from the audience when the candidates mentioned the president\u2019s policies and signs saying \u201cMake California Golden Again,\u201d co-opting his signature slogan.<\/p>\n

Associate delegate from Ventura County Jennifer McCarthy says she wants a candidate with Trump\u2019s ideals, which is why she\u2019s supporting Hilton.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he has the political and the business experience, plus the media experience, that he will be able to make the difference in California,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The party\u2019s delegates will announce its endorsements during the final day of the convention on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\"CandidatesCandidates for multiple California government positions stand before speaking at a forum during the 2026 California Republican Party Spring Convention at the Sheraton San Diego Resort on Saturday. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Along with the candidate forum, the convention on Saturday offered a series of events, including a book signing with former Trump administration press secretary Sean Spicer and a panel on voter identification and the future of elections.<\/p>\n

Booths with volunteers promoting candidates and vendors selling merchandise lined the main hall of the convention, and bedazzled clothing for sale \u2014 along with rows of \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d hats and other Trump-related merchandise \u2014 further decorated the space.<\/p>\n

\"RonaldRonald Solomon sits at his booth selling President Donald Trump gear during the 2026 California Republican Party Spring Convention at the Sheraton San Diego Resort on Saturday, April 11, 2026. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

San Diego resident Blake Marnell says he\u2019s been often seen at Trump rallies wearing a signature suit with a brick pattern on it \u2014 to symbolize his support for the Trump administration\u2019s border fence \u2014 but he left the outfit at home on Saturday, since the convention was more focused on California issues.<\/p>\n

Marnell is supportive of Hilton for governor and says he thinks he will be able to reach independent voters as well as Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see Steve Hilton as being a party politician,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s got a lot of crossover.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Louisa Millington, from Riverside, says Trump\u2019s endorsement of Hilton is detrimental in a state like California.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would vote for (Trump) again today, but in California, we need a governor for California, not for Washington, D.C.,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can\u2019t have our president picking and crowning who\u2019s going to be our governor in California.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The California Republican Party will make endorsements of the candidates running for office \u2014 including for the state\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[7,181,23,205,100,3054,13,74,84,76,75,1696],"class_list":{"0":"post-263481","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-latest-headlines","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-local-politics","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-north-county","14":"tag-politics","15":"tag-san-diego","16":"tag-san-diego-county","17":"tag-san-diego-headlines","18":"tag-san-diego-news","19":"tag-top-stories-sdut"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}