President Trump is cashing in on California as establishment-oriented Republican donors initially resistant to his brand of populist nationalism open their checkbooks to keep the White House out of the hands of a liberal Democrat.
Trump has seen an uptick in support from wealthy California Republicans, many of whom stayed on the sidelines in the 2016 contest. This country club set remains uncomfortable with the president’s pugnacious style of communicating. But after watching the unfolding Democratic presidential primary and a House of Representatives controlled by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Republicans fear a Washington overrun by liberals more than they do an unbridled Trump.
“The fundraising has still been strong out here,” Randall Avila, executive director of the Orange County GOP told the Washington Examiner.
California has not been competitive for Republican presidential nominees for nearly a generation. But throughout that period, well-off Republicans in the state have figured prominently in the GOP’s strategy for financing national campaigns for the White House and Congress. Even under Trump California’s status as a lucrative “ATM” has continued.
Some major GOP donors have fled California for Arizona, Texas, and Nevada, driven out by taxes and regulations imposed by an increasingly liberal, Democratic legislature. Those who have stuck it out, particularly in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley, prefer not to contribute to Trump, although they are giving to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and support his bid to become speaker.
But the Los Angeles area, Orange County, and greater San Diego are “cash cows” for the president, a knowledgeable GOP fundraising consultant said. In Southern California, Trump has enjoyed strong financial support partly because of new donors involved in the party because of him, and partly because of a few close allies, such as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, activated their networks on his behalf.
“While we face many challenges as Republicans in California, in many respects fundraising is performing better as we’re approaching 2020,” David Reade, a Republican strategist in the state, said.
Trump’s joint fundraising committee with the RNC has pulled in nearly 130 contributions of $25,000 or more from Republican donors in California since the beginning of his presidency, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Recently, the state has been delivering for his reelection, even as its mammoth load of 55 votes in the Electoral College are as out of reach as ever.
Vice President Mike Pence this month raked in an estimated $500,000 at a fundraiser in the San Diego area, while the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., and girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, brought in $2.5 million from a multistop swing through the state. The president also has raised big money at events he has headlined.
McCarthy, closely aligned with Trump, is the other big player.
To the extent that another Republican president might have raised more money in California than Trump, McCarthy, the party’s top leader in the House, is not experiencing a drop-off. His prodigious collection of big checks is giving otherwise dejected California Republicans hope of recapturing at least a few of the congressional seats lost to Democrats in last fall’s midterm elections.
Some Republicans believe that Pelosi deserves a share of the credit.
“There is a misconception that voters who identify with Never Trumpers are now somehow anti-Republican,” said Brad Smith, a Republican who served as chief of staff to a member of Congress from California. “What’s happening in Pelosi’s House is exactly what Republicans feared, a chaotic, tone-deaf left turn.”
