California Republicans rejoice over Swalwell scandal, but split on best GOP candidate for governor

SAN DIEGO — While spring conventions are mostly held under sunny San Diego skies, delegates and leaders of the California Republican party basked in a different kind of glow over the weekend as the campaign for a leading Democratic gubernatorial candidate imploded amid allegations of sexual assault and misconduct.

The party did not endorse its candidate for governor on Sunday because none of the top Republicans — Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News host Steve Hilton — received the support of 60 percent of delegates. Bianco won 49%, Hilton 44%; 7 percent of delegates voted not to participate in the race.

“We are very happy,” Bianco said after the vote. “We got the popular vote here, right? After all, our goal is to win California, and you win California with the popular vote… Californians are looking for a leader. Californians are looking for integrity. Californians are looking for integrity. And they want to have someone that they know will look out for them, that they know will work for them, and that’s why I won this vote.”

Hilton also said she was pleased with her performance.

“Chad came to this convention thinking he had it in the bag,” Hilton said. “I think we’ve made a lot of progress this week, and I think the deciding factor in the primary will be President Trump’s support.”

The convention came as a former staffer for Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) accused him of twice pressuring her because she was too drunk to consent. San Francisco Chronicle And CNN. Three other women also accused Swalwell of abuse, including sending and soliciting sexually explicit photos and messages.

Swalwell did not withdraw from the race, but within hours of the allegations, Sen. Adam Schiff, campaign co-chairs Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Adam Gray, and the California Teachers Assn.

The collapse of Swalwell’s campaign brought a surge of energy to leaders and hundreds of die-hard members of the state’s Republican Party, which has a supermajority in the state legislature and no statewide elected office. The news came Friday as the party convention got underway at the bayside Sheraton San Diego Resort and hours before the Artemis II crew was due to splash down on the nearby shore.

Sean Spicer, a former press secretary during President Trump’s first term who is promoting a new book, joked during a Saturday brunch panel about landing in San Diego just in time to see “the fall.”

“Sorry, I was talking about Swalwell,” he said, laughing. “It was nice to see Artemis back, too.”

Republicans haven’t won a statewide election since 2006, and some hoped Swalwell’s debate would prompt voters already beleaguered by the cost of living to consider supporting GOP candidates this year.

“Obviously Californians in general are looking for viable alternatives. They’re looking to the California Republican Party,” Chairman Corrin Rankin told reporters.

Republicans running to replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom shared similar visions in five-minute speeches at a candidate forum Saturday afternoon.

“We stand here today, full of energy, hope and optimism, meeting spring in the steps we take on this beautiful spring day. Why? Because every party has its season, and the leaves are falling from the trees for California Democrats,” Hilton told delegates.

Hilton, who served as chief political adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, argued that 16 years of Democratic rule had led to dysfunction, chaos and scandal that alarmed voters in the majority-blue state even before the Swalwell scandal.

“And now that it’s been a few hours, I think we’re facing another Eric Swalwell intern explosion,” he said.

Hilton praised Trump’s support, describing it as “a tremendous asset for us, the energy, the resources, the precious gift of having the support that has made the biggest difference in gap year participation.”

Bianco emphasized that he has served in law enforcement in the state for decades; That’s one of its biggest appeals to Californians concerned about the liberal criminal justice policies of past Democratic administrations.

“I spent every day serving the residents of California, making our lives better and safer. I fought for you and shed blood for you,” Bianco said.

Bianco denied allegations that Hilton turned a blind eye to undocumented immigrants, sympathized with Black Lives Matter protesters and threatened county residents with punishment if they did not follow mask rules during the pandemic. He said he was the first law enforcement official in the country to defy the quarantine order after the outbreak. Bianco said he prayed with protesters following the death of George Floyd while also “forcibly” expelling “rioters and domestic terrorists” from his county.

Bianco also indirectly touched on Hilton’s attacks against the sheriff during the campaign.

“This was never supposed to be a dishonest smear campaign and bullseye,” Bianco said, referring to a mailer Hilton’s campaign sent to voters with circles around Bianco’s head resembling a fiery target.

As Bianco walked through the bayside convention hotel after the forum, supporters chanted his name.

On Saturday night, Bianco hosted a western lounge-themed party for delegates. Attendees wearing cowboy hats danced, petted fluffy white calves and posed for photos in front of a blown-up cactus.

A party hosted by Hilton took on the feel of a candidate forum as he and his Republican allies running for other statewide offices gave another series of speeches, often punctuated by silencing attendees chattering in the back of the room.

Under California’s top-two primary system, the two leading candidates advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. While Hilton and Bianco have been leading in the polls for weeks, eight leading Democrats, including Swalwell, have split the support of liberal voters, raising concerns among Democrats that the party could be left out of the November election.

Political pundits said those chances had diminished with Swalwell’s fall from grace and Trump’s endorsement of Hilton, but those on the conservative side of California politics celebrated the apparent decline of the once powerful Democrat.

Republican National committeeman Shawn Steel said Swalwell “is in denial now, but when she realizes she has no friends left and her campaign team has abandoned her, people are laughing at her in the restaurant, I guess, and I hope for her sake that she has the self-awareness to quietly drop out of school and go to the south coast of France and put on a wig.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), one of the convention’s famous speakers, took shots at other California Democrats during a banquet Saturday evening, describing Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass as the “Democrats’ national ambassador for disaster management” and Newsom as a “Texas Realtor of the Year” contender, because no one in human history has sold more homes in the state of Texas.

“Look, as a Texan, I have to say, this is not fair. [You have] “You have been cursed by stupid politicians despite an economy that has been a huge engine that has been driving America forward for decades,” Cruz said.

While Hilton and Bianco’s campaigns have argued over their respective records, the candidates largely avoided direct confrontation until a debate in Rancho Mirage earlier this month. The two GOP candidates clashed over issues like immigration, credentials and integrity.

Delegates also argued in the convention halls about Bianco and Hilton’s recordings.

Bianco supporter Shiva Bagheri of Beverly Hills said Hilton’s political stance is unconstitutional.

“Steve said anyone making under $100,000 should not pay [income] taxes,” said Bagheri, 52. “This is against the 14th Amendment. “I am a constitutionalist.” He said he preferred Bianco’s plan to lower everyone’s income taxes to avoid class warfare.

Hilton supporter Celeste Greig of Northridge initially supported Bianco and donated to her campaign. But after hearing Bianco’s comments on immigration, seeing footage of the sheriff kneeling next to BLM protesters, and learning that he believed a man was unlawfully arrested outside President Trump’s 2024 rally in the Coachella Valley, he began to feel uncomfortable.

Some Republicans longed for a return to a bygone era when state lawmakers regularly worked across the aisle. State Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) described working with Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla while serving in the Legislature, adding that he still considers Padilla, now the state’s senior U.S. senator, a friend.

“We are in a divided age right now,” Strickland said. “If we actually get a few more seats, I think some moderate Democrats would be more comfortable coming here and working with us.”