The conviction of former President Donald Trump on Thursday sparked an avalanche of reactions from some of California‘s leading political figures in the hours after the jury’s historic announcement.
As the nation’s most populous state and a Democratic stronghold, the Golden State has brandished itself as the birthplace of the Democratic-led MAGA opposition since the 2016 election. Although the state has a Democratic supermajority, a handful of districts are expected to controlled by Republicans are among the closest and most important races in the bid for control of the House. Any impact of Trump’s conviction in these districts is unclear at this time, but a steady stream of comments from leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties may offer insight into how the verdict will influence campaign messaging aimed at undecided voters. and moderate.
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California GOP and Democratic Party leaders weigh in on Trump verdict
California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson called the decision a “dark day,” alleging a “politically motivated case brought by a far-left district attorney” in a statement released just hours after it was read. Trump’s 32-count guilty verdict.
“Despite Democratic-led efforts to interfere with the presidential election, Americans will have the final say this November when they re-elect President Trump and send him back to the White House to correct the Biden administration’s many failures and put to our nation at the top. a path to success,” said Patterson.
Claims popularized by Trump and his allies in the Republican Party about election interference, tampering and other types of fraud have been repeatedly refuted by independent experts and election officials.
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State Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks also issued his own statement on the verdict, striking a jubilant tone in stark contrast to Patterson’s “dark day.”
“Today, the people of New York have returned a guilty verdict and made Donald Trump a convicted felon,” Hicks said in a statement about. “In November, the American people will make him a two-time loser for president. And California Democrats are going to do our part to make it happen.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. The event will take place from September 29 to October 1. (Photo by David McNew//Keynote USA/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 776038048 ORIG FILE ID: 1697758353″>
Candidates for California US Senate Seat Schiff and Garvey
In the California race to fill the late Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat, Trump’s shadow looms over Republican candidate Steve Garvey, who has repeatedly refused to clarify his level of support for the former president. While Trump is a potential poison pill for the Republican candidate in deep California, it has long been a political rallying cry for his opponent.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, was catapulted onto the national stage for leading the prosecution in Trump’s first impeachment trial. In the debates leading up to the March 5 primary, he often mentioned Trump’s name, echoing many other prominent Democrats in positioning himself as a bulwark against Trump and MAGA Republicanism.
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Schiff celebrated the Manhattan jury’s decision in a Thursday post on X, formerly Twitter, minutes after the verdict.
“Today, twelve ordinary American citizens found a former president guilty of dozens of serious crimes,” Schiff said in Thursday’s newspaper. mail. “Despite his efforts to distract, delay and deny, justice came for Donald Trump anyway. And the rule of law prevailed.”
As of Thursday afternoon, Garvey had not made public comments on the verdict.
California House members take to social media
Republican Tom McClintock, representing the 5th Congressional District in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada foothills, said the verdict “perverts the rule of law.” In his X post, he calls the prosecutor “poisonously partisan” and the jury “tainted.”
Republican Doug LaMalfa call it a “miscarriage of justice”, mirroring McClintock and Patterson in claiming that the prosecution was partisan. He went a step further and claimed that the judge “deliberately manipulated the entire process” to ensure a guilty verdict.
Democrat Eric Swallwell said on social media platform Thursday that Trump’s conviction is a victory for the rule of law and for “the idea that we all play by the same rules.”
One of the two highest-ranking Democrats in the California House of Representatives, Rep. Ted Lieu, said in X: “In America, no one is above the law: not the rich, not the powerful, and certainly no former president of the United States.”
Kathryn Palmer is a KeynoteUSA election staffer. Contact her at kapalmer@gannett.com and follow her on X @KathrynPlmr.
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