The California Republican Party is now deciding between four candidates to endorse in the Sept. 14 recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Kevin Faulconer, Larry Elder, Kevin Kiley and Doug Ose all made the cut ahead of the final meeting of delegates on Aug. 7. The state party will endorse a candidate with support from at least 60% of the delegates.
"What you see coming out of this endorsement exercise is a California GOP that is trying to do one thing and that is turn out its voters on question one: 'Should the Governor be recalled or not,'" Sonoma State Political Science Chair David McCuan told KCBS Radio on Monday.
Neither 2018 Republican nominee John Cox nor former Olympic decathlete and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner made the list.
McCuan said Jenner's exclusion is further proof her candidacy was a novelty, while Cox's absence is more of a surprise.
"He hasn't really been able to move forward," McCuan said of Cox. "He is also seen as someone who doesn’t quite cut it with the California electorate in terms of exciting them."
So, what if none of the candidates are endorsed?
McCuan explained how that could still provide a boost for some of them.
"It's going to level the playing field for a bunch of candidates who are going to be in single digits," he said.
With the majority of state voters registered as Democrats, McCuan told KCBS Radio the key to next month’s recall election remains voter turnout.
