The chair of the Republican Party of San Diego County Paula Whitsell resigned yesterday after receiving mounting criticism from party members for trying to change the party’s previous endorsement for the 75th Assembly District race from Andrew Hayes to Carl DeMaio.
Hayes will get to keep his original endorsement, but the party will not help him financially in the 75th Assembly race.
Whitsell’s resignation was announced at the beginning of Monday night’s Central Committee meeting, Scott Sherman, a Central Committee member and former San Diego Councilmember, told Voice of San Diego.
The Central Committee is the party’s governing body made up of 42 members.
That same day, the committee unanimously elected Corey Gustafson as chair, Sherman said. DeMaio then withdrew his endorsement request.
In a press release Tuesday, the county Republican Party said the party has “reaffirmed its endorsement of Andrew Hayes as the County Party’s only official endorsed candidate in the 75th Assembly District.”
However, sources confirmed to Voice that, as part of the negotiations, the party agreed to keep the endorsement for Hayes in place but will not help him financially. He’ll be on his own to raise and spend money to reach voters and will only benefit from the symbolic support of the party.
Why party endorsements matter: It’s beneficial for a candidate to be able to say they’re supported by a party that their target voters value. Endorsed candidates automatically get the advantage of being able to directly communicate with voters who identify as party members.
Endorsed candidates can also raise and spend far more money than candidates without support from their party, and candidates can coordinate with the party on how that money is spent. That gives candidates the freedom to spend their money on reaching independent voters or voters who identify with the opposing party.
Whitsell’s resignation comes after several days of controversy surrounding her attempt last week to strip Hayes of his endorsement and give it to DeMaio. And after she kicked out a committee member for disagreeing with her.
On April 1, at an Executive Committee meeting, Whitsell announced that the party’s endorsement of Hayes, which was decided last June, was only for the Primary Election. She then called for a new vote to endorse DeMaio for the General Election.
The Executive Committee is a smaller subgroup of the Central Committee typically made up of about 17 members.
This was an unprecedented move because, typically, an endorsement lasts through the Primary Election and the General Election.
The vote to change the endorsement failed to pass, and the next morning, Whitsell sent an email to Sherman removing him from the Executive Committee because he didn’t support her motion, Sherman told Voice.
Republican Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey sent an email to the party’s Central Committee on April 4 detailing the situation and criticizing Whitsell for “abusing her power as chair to circumvent party rules and past precedent to steal the 75th Assembly District endorsement from Andrew Hayes.”
On April 7, a group of party members including Rep. Darrell Issa, Sen. Brian Jones, Mayor John Minto, Mayor Bill Wells, Bailey and Sherman sent a separate email to Central Committee members describing Whitsell’s actions as a “blatant and transparent manipulation of our endorsement process.”
So, why was Whitsell’s attempt to change the endorsement such a big deal?
What goes down for endorsements: According to the party’s bylaws, endorsements can only be made by a 2/3 vote of the full Central Committee. And any proposed changes need to go through the full Central Committee and go up for a 2/3 vote.
All endorsements must also be made according to a specific schedule, and committee members can’t support or show preference for a candidate the committee did not endorse.
Whitsell’s actions didn’t just go against past precedent, they violated the party’s own rules.
“This underhanded manipulation of our established process does not serve our Party and has undoubtedly cost us time, support, conflict, and money that we can ill afford to lose. These games only divide our Party and diminish our viability during a critical election period,” the party members wrote in the April 7 email.
Hayes and DeMaio were the top two vote getters in last month’s Primary Election. The two Republicans are running to replace termed out Republican Assemblymember Marie Waldron for the 75th Assembly District, which encompasses a vast portion of northern and eastern San Diego County.
Hayes is a Lakeside Union school board member and aide to state Sen. Jones. He has received endorsements from the California Republican Party, as well as an array of Republican elected officials including Waldron, Jones, Rep. Issa. and Supervisor Joel Anderson.
DeMaio is a former conservative activist and radio talk-show host. He served one term on the San Diego City Council in 2008, then lost races for mayor in 2012 and Congress in 2014 and 2020.
All of them appear to look like utter clowns. Why anyone votes for these reprobates is beyond belief.
“Why party endorsements matter: It’s beneficial for a candidate to be able to say they’re supported by a party that their target voters value. Endorsed candidates automatically get the advantage of being able to directly communicate with voters who identify as party members. ”
If this is true, why did DeMaio win by 24 points in the primary?
Andrew had the entire establishment behind him, and DeMaio prevailed.
Is this the best you can Do Voice of San Diego?