California Republican Party convention full coverage: Every moment from protests through the last speeches
Welcome to a special edition of Essential Politics, our live feed from the California Republican Party convention in Burlingame. Here's a quick glance at what happened at the weekend event.
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Sen. Ted Cruz was endorsed by former California Gov. Pete Wilson before his lunchtime speech Saturday.
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Carly Fiorina, the former HP executive Cruz has selected as his running mate, spoke Saturday evening.
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Donald Trump riled up protesters Friday.
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Ohio Gov. John Kasich spoke Friday evening and proclaimed his love for California.
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May. 1, 2016, 1:56 p.m.
California Republicans running for the U.S. Senate have struggled to catch the eye of voters consumed by the wild race for the GOP presidential nomination, and it wasn’t any easier for them at this weekend's state Republican Party convention.
The three-day event drew an at-capacity crowd — as well as throngs of protesters and reporters — to hear presidential contenders Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. The three were given prime speaking slots to address the state GOP's full delegation.
The crew of Republican Senate candidates, by contrast, were given eight minutes each to speak to delegates on Sunday afternoon, the final event of the day.
May. 1, 2016, 1:00 p.m.
My campaign has been self-funded. I’ve used by pension and social security to self-fund my campaign.
May. 1, 2016, 12:41 p.m.
May. 1, 2016, 11:39 a.m.
The California Republican Party stuck mostly to its conservative roots Sunday, opposing proposed ballot initiatives to legalize pot, increase cigarette taxes and require background checks for people buying ammunition.
Those were among the slate of initiatives expected to appear on the November ballot that Republicans considered Sunday at the party’s spring convention in Burlingame.
The only mild surprise was the party's support for a $9-billion school bond measure which had faced opposition from some fiscal conservatives. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown also opposes the measure.
May. 1, 2016, 10:03 a.m.
Look at it this way: We're just warming up for Cleveland.
May. 1, 2016, 9:50 a.m.
The California Republican Party on Sunday voted to extend the term limits for its current chairman, Jim Brulte.
The change makes Brulte eligible to serve two additional two-year terms.
Brulte is credited with helping turn around the party's finances and launching a rebuilding process to make the GOP politically relevant again in California.
Apr. 30, 2016, 9:27 p.m.
Carly Fiorina took to her new role as Ted Cruz’s would-be running mate on Saturday, lashing out at his rivals and defending him from critics.
Fiorina, who ended her presidential run in February after losing badly in Iowa and New Hampshire, urged Ohio Gov. John Kasich to exit the presidential race.
“I suspended my presidential campaign because there was no path to victory. I actually wish John Kasich would get the memo, because you see if you lose 49 out of 50 states, you will not be the nominee,” Fiorina told a couple hundred people at the dinner meeting of the California Republican Party convention. “It isn’t going to happen. Here in the state of California, like in the state of Indiana, a vote for John Kasich is a vote for Donald Trump.”