Despite Donnelly’s challenge, no plans for debate at GOP convention

As California Republicans prepare to gather outside of San Francisco for their semi-annual convention this weekend, at least one of the party’s gubernatorial candidates wants to debate.

Republican Tim Donnelly wants to debate his GOP gubernatorial rival Neel Kashkari at the state Republican Party convention in Burlingame. But party officials and Kashkari’s campaign say there are no plans to put the two onstage together.

Donnelly issued a debate challenge in an open letter addressed to Kashkari and sent to reporters on Monday. “You and I have different life experiences, ideas for California, and campaign focuses,” Donnelly wrote. “I believe that a good old-fashioned debate at the upcoming California Republican Party Convention is the perfect place to make that happen.”

Alas, say state party officials, it appears as if it is not to be. The two Republican candidates are not even scheduled to address the full convention, but will be addressing smaller groups of activists throughout the weekend.

State party spokesman Mark Standriff said the party “doesn’t involve itself in discussions between primary candidates in a contested race,” and that no campaign had contacted the party about a possible debate.

“It’s our understanding from the CRP that there will not be a debate at this weekend’s convention,” said Kashkari spokeswoman Jessica Ng. “That being said, Neel looks forward to continuing to share with voters his vision for California, and there will surely be many opportunities for voters to hear from him and all the gubernatorial candidates in the coming months, including in a debate setting.”

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anthony.york@latimes.com

@anthonyyork49