Bay Area Becomes Battleground For GOP Candidates
OAKLAND (KCBS) – Bay Area Republicans are enjoying an unprecedented level of interest in the upcoming presidential primary, which will help determine whether Donald Trump wins the nomination.
Candidates are "micro-targeting" specific districts, and voters are switching parties, so they can take part in the closed primary.
The phone is ringing off the hook at the Alameda County Republican Party, where David Erlich is chairman. Erlich is hearing from the presidential campaigns, and from East Bay voters who want to switch parties, so they can vote GOP on June 7th.
"How about people from Berkeley? Lifelong Democrats, registering Republican to vote for Trump," Erlich told KCBS.
The Republican primary is closed, meaning only people who are registered with the GOP by May 23 can cast a ballot. California Democrats allow those with no party preference to vote in their primary.
Erlich said with each of California's 53 congressional districts are worth 3 delegates. Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. John Kasich are eyeing pockets with few Republicans, like Oakland, where shifting just a handful of voters could mean victory.
The chairman, who is officially neutral, said Trump seems to be striking a chord with a growing number of Bay Area voters.
"A lot of his gaffes maybe they come from not him being a politician. But he does expose the things that need to be exposed at this point in time," Erlich said.
Meanwhile, the Cruz team is coming this weekend to work on getting out the vote in the East Bay.
