California is a key state on the 2024 GOP presidential nomination calendar as it will award 169 delegates, more than any other state in the nation.
AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall
When former President Donald Trump formally entered the Republican presidential race last November, he became the immediate frontrunner.
Nearly a year later, Trump remains the frontrunner, leading by hefty margins in virtually every major national public poll, and while his advantages in key early-voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire have shifted, he hasn't ceded a sizable lead to any of his contenders.
One of the most significant elements of Trump's 2024 bid has been its discipline, with the former president and his allies waging a behind-the-scenes campaign to alter GOP rules in order to secure as many delegates as possible once the primaries and caucuses begin early next year, according to The New York Times.
And in recent months, one of the most significant changes in the delegate contest has occurred in California.
While California remains solidly Democratic on the presidential level in general elections, it is a key state on the Republican nomination calendar as it will award 169 delegates — more than any other state in the nation.
In July, the California Republican Party approved changes that would allocate all of its delegates to any candidate who won with more than 50% of the vote, a move that was widely seen as one that would benefit Trump. If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, then delegates will be granted proportionally.
A Berkeley-IGS survey released in September showed Trump leading the GOP field with 55% support among likely voters, while Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida was the choice of 16% of likely voters. No other candidate hit double digits.
The results reflected a big boost for Trump, who polled at 44% in a Berkeley-IGS survey conducted in May, with DeSantis hitting 26% support at the time.
With the California rule change, a Trump victory exceeding 50% would shut out every other Republican from the state's massive delegate haul and ensure a smoother path for the former president to win the party's nomination.
And DeSantis allies have seemingly taken note, as The Times reported that Never Back Down — a pro-DeSantis super PAC — has ended its door-knocking operation in California.
The super PAC's operation had already gone to 100,000 homes in the state, according to The Times.
Ben Ginsberg, the veteran Republican attorney, told The Times that the California rule change was a highly significant development in the GOP presidential race.
"It gives him an advantage that a front-runner has never had before to absolutely wrap it up by Super Tuesday," Ginsberg said of Trump.
Insider reached out to Never Back Down for comment.
