Republicans are falling in line behind Trump. Except for a few.
The majority of California's Republican congressional delegation plans to back former President Donald Trump this year, now that Nikki Haley has suspended her campaign. But three of the 11 members have yet to extend their support — and few are eager to discuss their thinking.
Rep. David Valadao, one of the few Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 and who faces a tough reelection battle in a Central Valley swing district, was the only member to definitively say he’s not endorsing a presidential candidate this year
Rep. Michelle Steel’s office and campaign didn’t respond to at least four calls and emails spanning six weeks requesting comment on a Trump endorsement. When approached by a POLITICO reporter at the Capitol last week, she promptly darted away in heels. But she was listed as a delegate for theformer president in California’s recent primary.
Rep. Young Kim, in a brief interview in the halls of Congress, initially sidestepped the endorsement question — and then, when pressed, said she wasn’t sure.
California Republicans in swing districts have for years had to proceed delicately on the Trump question. Full-throated support of the former president, who is deeply unpopular in much of the state, risks alienating moderate voters, while breaking with Trump could come at a political cost with the Republican base.
Kim and Steel both sit in purple seats that include a portion of Orange County — a famously swingy region whose voters often behave outside the realm of conventional political wisdom. Mike Madrid, an veteran anti-Trump Republican consultant who is studying voter trends in the county, said people there are “extremely discerning” and generally don’t like either party. In recent cycles, Orange County voters have shown a willingness to check the power of Trump in Washington.
“The Republicans were very disaffected and don't like the party under Trump. But they're not Democrats,” he said, adding that Kim and Steel are “calculating, probably quite accurately, that their voters are going to vote against Donald Trump as opposed to for Biden.”
There’s also concern about Trump’s negative comments about Asian-Americans — which have long been a source of private angst for Republicans. In 2022, the former president posted that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s name “sounds Chinese” and spelled it similarly to Kim’s name. Both Kim and Steel represent significant Asian American and Pacific Islander populations.
Rep. Tom McClintock, who represents a safe Republican district southeast of Sacramento that includes Modesto and Yosemite National Park, said he’s not endorsing right now, and doesn’t know about the future. He backed Ron DeSantis last year, before the Florida governor dropped out of the race.
But the rest of the delegation has already jumped on the Trump train — or intends to once the former president gets the GOP nomination. That includes other Republicans facing some of the toughest reelection campaigns in the state, like Reps. John Duarte and Mike Garcia, for whom Trump could similarly be a liability.
“Donald Trump's going to be a candidate, and we're gonna get this country turned around,” Duarte, who said he plans to endorse Trump once he gets the nomination, said at the Capitol last week. “I'm glad to be a part of that.”
As Trump glides towards the nomination, others will likely fall into line soon, said Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who confirmed to Playbook in February that he had endorsed Trump.
But, he said, "Not everyone has to do it. At the end of the day, what is smart in order to keep you around?”
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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report omitted the fact that Republican Rep. Michelle Steel was a primary delegate for Trump in California.
