Live From The Convention!
The energy is unmistakable. Delegates are engaged, campaigns are working every corner of the room, and the focus is squarely on endorsements and preparing for the June primary. But beneath the excitement, there is a serious strategic conversation unfolding about what comes next for Republicans in California.
In this quick on-the-ground update, I catch up with CAGOP Vice Chair John Park to get his take on the mood inside the convention — and the reaction to the sudden political collapse of Congressman Eric Swalwell. While delegates clearly see Swalwell’s exit as politically advantageous, it also introduces a new and complicated reality that Republicans cannot ignore.
The bigger issue is the math.
Swalwell had been pulling a meaningful share of the vote. With him gone, that support doesn’t disappear — it redistributes. And if that redistribution consolidates Democratic support behind fewer candidates, it raises the very real risk that Republicans could once again be shut out of the general election under California’s top-two system.
That looming possibility is shaping how I’m thinking about the endorsement fight happening this weekend. Delegates are passionate, but the question is whether they are thinking strategically enough about the broader outcome.
This is a quick but important snapshot from inside the convention — what people are saying, what they’re missing, and what could go wrong if Republicans don’t get this right.
