Apparent Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will have a hard time getting some local Republican votes — including San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s.
“I am not endorsing Mr. Trump,” Faulconer said through a spokeswoman on Friday. “ I reject his divisive rhetoric, including that toward women and Latinos. We need to be building bridges and bringing people together. That’s how we do things in San Diego. Mr. Trump has not earned my vote.”
The San Diego Union-Tribune reached out to more than 70 Republican elected officials and candidates this week, after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich dropped out of the race, to see how endorsements might change. Faulconer, for instance, had ed Kasich. So did San Diego Councilman Mark Kersey.
“I’ve looked forward to voting for John Kasich for President,” Kersey said. “I believe his message has been a bright spot in an otherwise ugly primary season. I still plan to vote for him in the primary, whether he is actively campaigning or not.”
The Republican Party of San Diego County also was not immediately embracing the apparent nominee.
“In fairness, there will be no remarks until Californians have had their long-awaited opportunity to weigh in on June 7, and there’s an actual nominee after the convention in June,” Chairman Tony Krvaric said.
Vista Councilman John Franklin said he’s ready to Trump.
“We can count on Donald Trump to restore confidence to our markets and be a force for prosperity in America,” Franklin said. “We have a choice between a socialist and a capitalist in November. I choose capitalism.”
Also ing Trump are Escondido Councilman Ed Gallo, Poway Councilman John Mullin and Santee Councilman Ronn Hall.
“In my opinion the alternative is far worse,” Hall said.
“Of all the Republican candidates, he was my last choice,” Mullin said. “But as of today, he is the only remaining choice to alter the path we are on toward becoming a European style socialist democracy.”
Congressmen Duncan Hunter and Darrell Issa are also ing Trump.
“Elections are choices, and this year provides as clear an option between two candidates as any time in recent history,” Issa wrote in of Trump.
The mixed response locally reflects the party nationally.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday he wasn’t ready to Trump.
Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush have decided to avoid the convention in August and won’t endorse anyone, and Sen. John McCain and former GOP nominee Mitt Romney plan to avoid it as well.
Because California’s electoral college votes have gone to the Democrats since 1988, some local Republicans plan to vote for a third party candidate. The sting of Cruz and Kasich dropping out is still too raw for some, though.
“I’m not sure I can relive that pain,” La Mesa Vice Mayor Bill Baber, said ing Indiana’s primary results.
Reading his tweet from that night he said “Regardless of Indiana or other State results, I remain #NeverTrump. Character counts (and still counts with some of us.)”
Come November, Baber said he will likely lean libertarian for the presidential ticket, but will vote Republican down ballot.
Brian Brady, a tea party organizer and former Republican committee member, said the only way he’d vote for Donald Trump would be if Ryan and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell reassured him that a President Trump would be held to even more constitutional scrutiny than Barack Obama.
Still, Brady was doubtful that Trump would make it to the White House.
Brady said Trump is making a mistake by thinking the “GOP machine” would jump behind him once he earned the nomination, because long-time volunteers like him won’t be helping him out.
“I won’t be volunteering like I have for the past 32 years,” Brady said.
Brady pushed for Cruz in the primary. If Trump were to make Cruz his running mate, Brady said he’d “lose all respect for [Cruz].”
For those seeking elected office, endorsements are risky.
Ray Ellis, San Diego council candidate for District 1 , said he would Kasich back in March.
“I am a centrist who believes that we move our country when we bring people together, rather than divide them,” Ellis said in an emailed statement Thursday. “Donald Trump does not reflect my style. He has a long way to go to earn my and I will decide who I will vote for when we know with certainty who the candidates are.”
