Neel Kashkari calls for unity but Tim Donnelly won’t play along

As he conceded in the primary race for governor of California on Tuesday night, Tim Donnelly urged his supporters to carry on their fight to defend liberty. But, foreshadowing a potentially deep and problematic rift for the California Republican Party in the months ahead, Donnelly did not ask his supporters to back his GOP rival Neel Kashkari.

In brief remarks to reporters after his concession speech, Donnelly at first sidestepped a question about why he did not publicly call on his loyalists to back Kashkari, who will face off against Democratic incumbent Jerry Brown in November.

“I have nothing to say about any of that,” the state assemblyman said. “I kept it positive and focused. I made a phone call. I congratulated him on the results. And that’s it. I was never part of the political machine. I believe politics should transcend and lift people up, and we should appeal to what’s best in everyone.”

Pressed by reporters on whether he would ask his backers to vote for Kashkari in his race against Brown, a staffer standing behind Donnelly suggested that he wrap up.

But Donnelly paused to finish his answer: “I will ask my supporters to fight with every last breath that they have to defend liberty, and the Constitution, and any candidates who represent that. But ... I will certainly not try to tell them what to do. I’ve never done that and I never will,” he said.

The approach stood in stark contrast to Kashkari’s call for party unity, issued in a statement he released after midnight that also expressed his admiration for Donnelly’s determination.

“He has worked tirelessly for the last 18 months, and I commend the dedication of him and his supporters,” Kashkari said in the statement. “Beginning tonight, Republicans must come together, support one another and focus our energy on changing Sacramento.”

Kashkari then turned his fire on his Democratic opponent.

“Gov. Brown continually claims a ‘California comeback,’ but most families have no idea what he is talking about,” Kashkari continued as he pivoted toward the general election. “For too long, misguided policies from Sacramento have driven jobs out of the state and destroyed the education system. In fact, Jerry Brown’s legacy is the destruction of the middle class. And together, we are going to hold him accountable for our lack of jobs, for our failed schools and for our record poverty.”