TAMPA, Fla. – California Republicans resolved to keep their focus on November’s election and the future of the state party Monday, Aug. 27, as Tropical Storm Isaac churned into the Gulf of Mexico, threatening to steal thunder from the GOP’s national convention.
Most of the day’s planned events were scuttled due to the storm, and organizers consolidated the program into just three days. But with Republicans intent on generating as much momentum as possible from the convention, California’s political leaders and delegates pushed forward with a morning rally at a beach side resort about 30 miles outside of Tampa.
At the event, hundreds of the state’s delegates, alternates and guests – including dozens from Riverside and San Bernardino counties – cheered as GOP leaders shifted focus from the national ticket to California, promising a new day for a state in which Republicans don't hold a single statewide office.