As President Trump’s populist groundswell continues to build momentum nationwide, The Gateway Pundit gained an exclusive interview with the 2024 Republican nominee for U.S. Congress in California’s 24th district, Thomas Cole, regarding his recent experience as a voting delegate at the California GOP Convention in March.
“In California, the delegates are about 40% populist-style, and the other 60% are not quite in with Trump. They are like RINOs. Last week, the delegates elected ex-Democrat Corrin Rankin as the new Chair of the California GOP,” Thomas Cole told The Gateway Pundit exclusively.
“Rankin had a bail funds business that was harmed by Democrat policy. Democratic lawmakers instituted a zero-bail policy in California, and it destroyed her business.
“So, Rankin was recruited by [Assistant US Attorney] Harmeet Dhillon to the GOP. She flipped from being an Obama Democrat only 3 or 4 years ago, to becoming Chair of the California GOP,” Cole said.
Cole joined a large coalition at the California GOP Convention that favored Rankin’s opposition, the more populist Mike Morrell.
“As a delegate, I can appoint five associate delegates. We all voted for Mike Morrell to be Chair of the California GOP,” Cole said.
“Morrell is a former State Senator in California – but it wasn’t his time, apparently.
“Morrell is MAGA, Christian, and pro-life; Rankin is more pro-choice. I am not convinced that Rankin is a patriot Republican, but I hope that she does well,” Cole said.
In the final tally for California GOP Chair, Rankin won 57.2% of the nearly 1,400 votes, while Morrell garnered 42.8%.
Morrell’s sum far outpaced the populist wing’s vote count in 2019, when conservative commentator Steve Frank won only 14.7% of the vote for California GOP Chair.
“Steve Frank, our stalwart, Simi Valley conservative Republican, is like the lead element of our populist, Constitutionalist movement in California,” Cole said.
Frank, a power player in California Republican politics, owns and operates California Political News and Views magazine. However, according to Cole, Frank’s more populist stance remains greatly overpowered within California.
“In California, the populist wing is really overwhelmed by the more liberal wing, who pull toward Marxist principles – they want more government, more taxes, more control – and the populist wing, or MAGA, advocates the opposite of these policies,” Cole said.
Cole himself ran for California GOP Chair in 2022, but his platform did not align with the core voting base of California GOP delegates.
“The California GOP brings in about $20 million per year. They spend half of that money on consultants, and I think they ought to spend more money on candidates and get ballot statements out around the state,” Cole said.
“Republicans are at 22% power in the California legislature. My position is that we need to concentrate on schools, borders, jobs, and cutting regulation.
“I think now, with DOGE, many Californians—including Democrats—are more interested in saving money, lowering taxes, and making schools better,” Cole said.
Although several of Cole’s top initiatives do not currently headline the California GOP platform, Cole’s more populist politics remain on the rise in California.
The California GOP Convention voting body was represented by two highly distinct factions in March. Still, Cole said of the convention, “It was a very festive atmosphere.”
Eventually, to Make California Great Again, the California GOP must unify.
The post MAKE CALIFORNIA GREAT AGAIN: California GOP Delegate Says Populists Still Outnumbered in Party Leadership Despite Growing Support — “60% of Our Delegates Are Basically RINOs” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.