Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz Visits Sacramento For Private Fundraiser
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – While other candidates campaigned at the state GOP convention in San Francisco, Texas Senator Ted Cruz took a detour to Sacramento to attend a fundraising event.
"There was a very big crowd today," said political strategist Sal Russo. "It's been a long time since we've had a competitive presidential primary here."
There are only 38 days left before California Republicans head to the polls and make their decision between Cruz, Kasich and Trump.
"Trump's popularity is simply that he is not a politician," said Jack Pulley.
But Cruz hopes to narrow the gap between himself and current front-runner Donald Trump. In such a close race, Russo believes Cruz can't ignore the dollars and votes to be earned in California.
"I think Sacramento is a good battleground," he said. "It's an immense fundraising project which we haven't had in California since 1976 which was the last time there was a competitive Republican primary when Reagan was running against President Ford."
Saturday morning, former California Governor Pete Wilson gave his endorsement to Cruz. Typically, the weight of an endorsement is hard to measure, but Russo said, in a race this close, it could be the key to tipping the scales.
"I don't think that anyone expected it so I think he was a big feather in Ted Cruz's cap tonight," Russo said.
He believes the senator's swift departure this afternoon isn't the last we'll see of him before Californians head to the polls.
"I think Cruz is coming back," he said. "This was a fundraising trip today but I think he'll be back here before June 7."
The Republicans still have five more primaries to go. Mathematically, it's not possible for Cruz or Kasich to get to the magic number of 1,237. But as Donald Trump moves closer to securing the delegates he needs to win the nomination, Cruz and Kasich are looking to slow him down and go head to head at the national convention in Cleveland.