Less than a week after being found guilty in New York’s hush money trial, former President Donald Trump is in California fundraising — putting some Republican candidates in competitive races in an awkward position.
With the hopes of raking in huge sums of cash, Trump’s campaign will host events in Beverly Hills, San Francisco, and Newport Beach. Trump’s tour in California will be the first campaigning event since his conviction, and he is expected to play up his position as a “political prisoner” in an effort to appeal to donors.
While Trump prepares to chat with wealthy California donors this week, candidates in some of the state’s most competitive House races have remained silent on Trump’s guilty verdict. Reps. Mike Garcia’s (R-CA) and David Valadao’s (R-CA) seats are rated as toss-ups by the CookPoliticalReport, and Rep. Michelle Steel’s (R-CA) seat is rated as a lean Republican. None of them have commented on Trump’s conviction.
Garcia represents Santa Clarita, which is just an hour’s drive from Los Angeles. He is facing off against challenger George Whitesides, former CEO of Virgin Galactic, who, in an effort to win over centrists and independents, has been highlighting Garcia’s relationship with Trump. Whitesides noted that Garcia voted against certifying the 2020 election result and said in a statement that “Garcia is focused on defending Trump, rather than serving us.”
Rep. John Duarte (R-CA), whose race is labeled as a “toss-up,” told a local TV station that he was “disappointed with the whole prosecution” of Trump’s trial.
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Given how some of these races may determine which party controls the House, Trump is unlikely to bash Congress members for keeping silent on his conviction.
“At the end of the day, despite the veneer that he puts out, [Trump] understands that to win each of these individual House seats, the candidates have to have their own strategy to win,” former California GOP Executive Director Jon Fleischman told Politico. “And he knows that there are districts where raising a Trump flag does not help you.”