GOP candidates for governor fete delegates at state party convention

BURLINGAME, Calif. -- Republican gubernatorial candidates feted delegates to their state party’s weekend convention late into the night Saturday with parties, cocktails and music.

Former U.S. Treasury official Neel Kashkari had a cover band that introduced him to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

“I love to dance but my campaign team has forbidden me from dancing,” he told supporters gathered in a hotel ballroom.

“So the point of tonight is to have fun. This has been a fantastic convention,” Kashkari said. “I’m so excited to have all your support, to have everyone here fired up. We absolutely can turn California around. We can turn the party around. We can rebuild it.”

Kashkari’s campaign handed out drink tickets that said “3 terms, you’re out,” a reference to incumbent Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who is seeking an unprecedented fourth term.

Around the corner, Assemblyman Tim Donnelly hosted a party featuring actress Maria Conchita Alonso, who has supported him in an online video and at a Fresno rally.

Before singing to the San Bernardino County lawmaker in Spanish, Alonso talked of communist influence in Latin America, particularly in Venezuela, where she was raised.

“The target is the United States,” she said. “That’s who they want to destroy. That’s who they want to control.”

Donnelly said such governments take away citizens’ rights, and it could happen in the United States.

“In California, we’re more than halfway there,” he said, citing the state’s gun-control laws. “I want my state back. I want my freedom back.”

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seema.mehta@latimes.com

michael.finnegan@latimes.com