Republican Candidates for CA Governor Make Their Pitch: Who Do You Support?

Republicans need to unite behind one candidate to make it past the California “top two” voting system, and Carl DeMaio invited the four leading Republican candidates for Governor on his radio show to make their case.

California has suffered under one-party rule for years, but the 2022 elections may change all that. Specifically, this year offers Republicans another shot at the Governor’s Mansion in November, but only if they can get their act together. 

As the June primary quickly approaches, many Republicans are wondering: who are the candidates running for governor? And more importantly, will the party be able to unite behind one candidate to avoid vote-splitting and make it past the primary?

California elections are run by a “top two” primary system, in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the November general elections. This means that, theoretically, Republicans could get shut out of the November ballot and leave two Democrats for voters to choose from. This fate is likely if too many Republicans split the vote.

There are four leading Republicans in the race for Governor: State Senator Brian Dahle, Businessman Anthony Trimino, Attorney Shawn Collins, and Businesswoman Jenny Rae Le Roux. 

Carl DeMaio, chairman of Reform California and host of the DeMaio Report on 600AM KOGO, spoke to each of the four candidates on his radio show and gave them the opportunity to give their “elevator pitch” for becoming California’s next chief executive.

“All four of them are really good people — I would not have them on the show if I didn’t feel there was something of merit in each of these candidates,” DeMaio explained. “But in the end, we have to unite behind one candidate in order to avoid getting shut out of the November runoff.” 

“Cards on the table: Brian Dahle has my full endorsement because he has the best chance of making it into the runoff after having raised the most the funds to get his message out and after getting the endorsement of the most organizations across the state — including the California Republican Party,” said DeMaio. “But I want you to have a chance to listen to these candidates yourselves directly,” he continued. 

All of DeMaio’s endorsements can be found in his annual voter guide at ElectionGuideCalifornia.org

Brian Dahle:

Dahle is a farmer and a small business owner, and he has been in elected office serving the people of Lassen County and California for the last 25 years. He first served on the Lassen County Board of Supervisors for 16 years before joining the State Assembly in 2012, then later the State Senate in 2019. During his career in the State Legislature, Dahle has worked across party lines to push policies that make life more affordable for farming and business communities. 

If elected, Dahle aims to end California’s soft-on-crime policies, repeal the gas tax, and cut government waste and fraud.

“I have the experience — I know exactly how this place works and where the opportunities are when I become elected to actually get some things done for Californians — and roll things back that are destroying our way of life and our future for our children,” said Dahle.

“How can you run and win though in a state that is so blue in California?” asked DeMaio.

“The biggest challenge is raising money … I ask people to give me one dollar a day … then tell ten of your friends to donate a dollar a day … actually vote, get out the vote and help your friends get out the vote,” said Dahle. “We saw in the recall that 2 million Republicans did not vote — well you can’t win if you don’t show up,” he continued.

Dahle argued that if enough Republicans donate a dollar a day that he can compete with Gavin Newsom’s “war chest” of campaign funds as the Democrat incumbent.

Brain Dahle is endorsed by the California Republican Party, Carl DeMaio, and Reform California. 

Carl DeMaio is urging Republicans to unite behind Dahle because he has the campaign infrastructure, support, funding, and experience in order to make it past the “top two” primary.

“Brian Dahle is a fighter who will clean up the Sacramento Swamp and that’s why I’m proud to endorse Brian Dahle for governor,” DeMaio said of his endorsement.

For more information, you can visit Dahle’s website HERE.

Anthony Trimino:

Anthony Trimino is the CEO and founder of TRAFFIK, a global ad agency and one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in America. He is also a contributing member of the Forbes Agency Council. As a Cuban American, Anthony is familiar with the struggles Cuba faced that forced his grandparents to flee for America. He is hoping to bring freedom and affordability back to California by ending Newsom’s mandates and reducing taxes. Anthony also aims to renew values of faith, family, and parental rights in the state.

“I realize now more than ever that a politician’s not coming to save us, that it’s gonna take an outsider, that it’s going to take someone who takes this fight personally,” said Trimino.

“The only way that we’re gonna win in California is to achieve three things: number one, you need the hispanic vote; two, you need the evangelical vote; and three, you need the grassroots vote — and we have all three,” he continued.

“We run the risk of splitting the vote in this race … how specifically are you going to win the primary?” asked DeMaio.

Trimino explained that he is endorsed and supported by LEXIT, evangelical organizations, 3,000 churches, and several grassroots organizations — what Trimino argues is the support of the people over politicians and the establishment. 

“We have significant market penetration and momentum behind us and we’ve only capitalized on that ever since [the Newsom Recall],” said Trimino, who placed seventh among Republicans in the 2021 Newsom Recall election.

For more information, you can visit Trimino’s website HERE.

Shawn Collins:

Shawn is a Navy combat veteran and Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps Reserves. On the front lines, he survived two suicide assassination attempts. He is an active reservist and does pro-bono legal work assisting Vietnam Veterans, having earned his law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. His wife is a Lebanese immigrant, and he supported her as she became an American citizen. Shawn also coaches his children’s basketball team. If elected, Collins aims to support police and end soft-on-crime policies, support parental rights and school choice, and cut taxes, regulations, and mandates burdening Californians.

“I certainly didn’t set out with the objective of running for governor,” said Collins. But that changed when he witnessed mass protests and unrest in the state and his community, which spurred him to get involved.

“How are you going to be the one to unite the vote, rather than be a spoiler and split the vote?” asked DeMaio.

“We need something more than someone who can unite the vote,” said Collins. 

“Whoever we select as our gubernatorial candidate, they need to inspire, they need to lead, and they need to convey to our base ‘it is worth your time and effort to show up and vote’ — because if they can’t do that, not only are we going to lose the governor’s race, we’re going to lose everything down ballot and that ‘red wave’ may not make it to California,” he continued.

For more information, you can visit Collins’ website HERE.

Jenny Rae Le Roux

Jenny Rae Le Roux is a business owner, author, and strategic advisor. She received her B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and her MBA from Columbia Business School. In her career, Jenny Rae has co-built tech companies in the energy and financial services industries. She is a frequent guest speaker at Harvard Business School and has been featured in business publications like Forbes and Business Insider. After witnessing California's Covid response, she proactively modeled her own COVID plan using publicly available data. She realized ways to make the process more efficient, and decided to take action to improve the state government by running for governor. As governor, Jenny Rae plans to reduce fees and regulations, support police, reform schools and curriculums, fight for affordable housing, and more.

“Number one … in states that are blue, when they want a Republican governor, they pick a business person — not a career politician … so it’s clear that this has to be an outsider if we want Newsom not to be in office … I’ve been in business 20 years,” said Le Roux.

“Second is that’s our moms — and the people that are really leading the movement for change in America right now are mad moms … and third is that I am a problem solver, not a politician,” she continued.

“How do you think you can actually, credibly, tell people that they should put their vote on you given the fact that you didn’t do a very good job in the recall?” asked DeMaio.

Le Roux reasoned that the recall became a race between Newsom and Larry Elder when Newsom singled him out as a primary opponent, and that other Republicans are more viable in this election as Newsom hasn’t tipped the scales yet. Though she did warn that Newsom would likely back a candidate as similar to him as possible — to avoid exciting voters in November over the potential for true change in the state.

Le Roux argued that the best way to counter this is to support a contrasting candidate to Newsom in order to excite the base, like herself, and not a career politician. If voters select another career politician as the Republican nominee, she stresses that “Newsom’s the new Governor.”

For more information, you can visit Le Roux’s website HERE.

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