Rivals for the GOP White House nomination Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis will court Republicans on Friday in California, a glittering prize in the party’s 2024 nomination race and home to many wealthy donors.
Trump, the former president and front-runner to be the party’s nominee in the November 2024 general election, and Florida Gov. DeSantis will speak with activists and donors at a convention hosted by the California Republican Party in Anaheim, 25 miles south of Los Angeles.
The event comes after Wednesday night’s Republican debate in Southern California, which Trump did not attend and at which DeSantis mounted his most direct challenge to the front-runner. Democratic President Joe Biden also traveled to California this week to raise money for his reelection campaign.
Democrats will easily win the progressive state in next year’s general election. But in the battle to become the Republican nominee, California offers the biggest prize of all. The country’s most populous state has 169 delegates up for grabs in a race in which state-by-state delegate attainment determines who wins the nomination.
Trump, who has a 37-point lead over his closest rival DeSantis in the latest Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll, is expected to benefit from a recent rule change in how California delegates are rewarded. If he receives more than 50% of the primary vote in the state, he will receive all 169 delegates, rather than being awarded on a proportional basis.
Many of the delegates attending next year’s Republican nominating convention will be in the audience at the Anaheim event.
Two other Republican presidential candidates, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, will also speak at the convention.
Source: Terra

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