Despite growing anticipation that Donald Trump will take his presidential campaign to the Central Valley, he will not visit Fresno, the region’s de facto capital, when he attends the California Republican Party meeting in Burlingame, in the Bay Area, this weekend.
Trump is scheduled to speak at the convention on Friday, followed Friday evening by Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and Saturday by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Kasich and Cruz have not included California in their new election pact.
Breitbart News concluded recently that Trump will almost certainly have to campaign in the Central Valley, where Cruz has enjoyed wide leads in most recent polls, if he hopes to achieve the kind of sweeping victory necessary to win the 1,237 delegates he will need to win a majority on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July. That, in turn, triggered anticipation by the Fresno Bee and other local sources that Trump will, indeed, have to campaign in Fresno.
According to the Bee, the Trump campaign considered a stop in Fresno as early this week. But Trump’s California campaign director, Tim Clark, postponed that plan on Monday, suggesting a Fresno visit would only happen next month, according to yourcentralvalley.com: “Clark said right now, Trump is focused on his campaign in Indiana and a few other states …”.
“When reports surfaced of a Trump visit, many threats of violence aimed at Trump were sent out, on social media,” the report adds.
Indiana is important for the Trump effort in California, because its 57 delegates are offered on a similar winner-takes-all basis to California — 3 per congressional district, plus 30 statewide (California only offers 13 statewide). If Cruz wins Indiana, the task facing Trump in California becomes much more difficult. If Trump wins, California offers a definite path to victory.
The Trump campaign office is being set up in Sacramento, offering near access to the Central Valley and several Cruz strongholds.