2020 California Republican presidential primary explained

Election Name:2020 California Republican presidential primary
Country:California
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2016 California Republican primary
Previous Year:2016
Next Election:2024 California Republican primary
Next Year:2024
Election Date:March 3, 2020
Outgoing Members:AR
Elected Members:CO
Image1:File:Donald Trump official portrait (cropped).jpg
Candidate1:Donald Trump
Color1:283681
Home State1:Florida[1]
Popular Vote1:2,279,120
Percentage1:92.21%
Delegate Count1:172
Candidate2:Bill Weld
Color2:00A9E0
Home State2:Massachusetts
Popular Vote2:66,904
Percentage2:2.7%
Delegate Count2:0

The 2020 California Republican presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020.[2]

California primary election law

See main article: California Senate Bill 27. On July 30, 2019, California governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 27 (SB 27) into law, effective immediately, requiring that all presidential candidates release five years of tax returns in order to be eligible for the state primary.[3] [4] In August 2019, Trump sued the State of California, seeking to block implementation of the law SB 27, asserting that the law is unconstitutional.[5] On September 19, 2019, U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England issued a temporary injunction blocking the law from taking effect.[5] California is appealing; California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said: "Our elected leaders have a legal and moral obligation to be transparent with voters about potential conflicts of interest. This law is fundamental to preserving and protecting American democracy."[6]

California's Supreme Court ruled that Senate Bill 27 could not come into effect.[7] According to The Sacramento Bee, this means that "President Donald Trump won't have to release his tax returns to get on California's 2020 primary ballot".

Alternative convention

After Governor Newsom signed the bill, the Republican state committee met in emergency session to set up an alternative convention in order to give him all their delegates should the secretary of the state bar him because of his refusal to submit his taxes.[8]

After the supreme court's action in November 2019, plans for an alternative convention were shelved.

Candidates

To qualify for ballot access, a candidate must be determined by the Secretary of State to be a generally-recognized candidate, or by circulating nomination papers.[9]

"Generally advocated for or recognized candidate" or "recognized candidate" means an individual who has an authorized campaign committee registered with the Federal Election Commission for the office of President of the United States and submits proof of at least one of the following criteria:

Among the challengers to incumbent President Donald Trump who had submitted their applications with enough qualifications were New York advertising executive Robert Ardini and Manhattan Beach attorney Matthew Matern.[10]

Results

2020 California Republican presidential primary[11]
CandidateVotes%Estimated
delegates
2,279,120 92.2%172
66,9042.7%0
(withdrawn)64,7492.6%0
24,351 1.0% 0
15,4690.6%0
12,8570.5%0
8,1410.3%0
Total2,471,591100%

See also

References

  1. News: Trump, a symbol of New York, is officially a Floridian now. Politico. October 31, 2019. February 3, 2020. Matthew Choi.
  2. Web site: March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary Election. League of Women Voters. November 27, 2018 . November 27, 2019.
  3. News: Medina. Jennifer. Karni. Annie. California Requires Trump Tax Returns Under New Election Law. July 30, 2019. The New York Times. July 30, 2019.
  4. News: California governor signs law that would require Trump to release tax returns. July 30, 2019. The Guardian. Associated Press. July 30, 2019.
  5. News: Federal judge blocks California law to force disclosure of Trump's tax returns. September 19, 2019. Los Angeles Times. John Myers.
  6. News: John Myers. California will appeal judge's decision to block law requiring Trump's tax returns. Los Angeles Times. October 2, 2019.
  7. Web site: California can't force Donald Trump to release tax returns, state Supreme Court rules. Anderson. Bryan. November 21, 2019. The Sacramento Bee. November 21, 2019.
  8. Web site: California GOP opens path to send delegates to 2020 convention even if Trump isn't on ballot. Chris Mills Rodrigo. September 8, 2019. The Hill. November 27, 2019.
  9. Web site: Presidential Primary Election - March 3, 2020. California Secretary of State. November 22, 2019. November 16, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191116021513/https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/presidential-primary-election-march-3-2020/. dead.
  10. Web site: Newsletter: Presidential hopefuls face a big California ballot deadline this week. November 25, 2019. Los Angeles Times.
  11. Web site: California Republican Primary Results . electionresults.sos.ca.gov . March 20, 2020.