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Coulter To CA Delegates: California A Warning To Rest Of U.S.

California delegates cheer during the second day session of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Tuesday, July 19, 2016.
Associated Press
California delegates cheer during the second day session of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Tuesday, July 19, 2016.

Coulter To CA Delegates: California A Warning To Rest Of U.S.
An Update From The Republican National Convention In Cleveland GUEST:Katie Orr, government and politics reporter, KQED

Our top story, GOP delegates named their nominee last night at the Republican National Convention . The name that was most mentioned by speakers was not Donald Trump, it was Hillary Clinton and not in a good way. New Jersey Governor. Chris Christie staged a mock prosecution of Clinton. The charge of putting herself ahead of America, guilty or not guilty. Those chance of lock her up. Mike Pence -- joining me is Katie Orr . KQED reporter. There were some speeches bashing Secretary Clinton and they seemed to go over well. That could be played is a fair representation of how a lot of delegates here feel about Hillary Clinton. It seems to be more about disliking her then liking Donald Trump. People have very strong reactions to her. Everywhere you go, you see the Hillary for prison T-shirts and buttons. Those were the things that seemed to get this crowd fired up. They do not want to see Hillary Clinton in office. For many of them, even if they aren't in love with Donald Trump, he is the person they think they have to vote for. The nominating process went smoothly last night, despite the talk for months about a possible uprising. The biggest, if there was any disturbance, it was Ohio awarding its vote to Governor. John Kasich and has not come to the convention, which people find offputting. They think that it is rude. It did go smoothly, aside from that. Some states delayed officially casting ballots so that New York could be the state to put Trump over-the-top for the number that he needed to become the nominee. His son Donald Trump Junior cast the votes. Once they did, there was celebration on the screen, they played New York New York and things on the live speaker. Around the stadium, it was a bit of a subdued reaction. Where I was sitting, people just kind of sat there. A lot of seats were empty. That was mentioned on Twitter. While people on the floor were excited, people around the sides, a lot were just hanging out. What are the highlights of today's agenda? We will hear from Mike Pence. We are going to hear from Ted Cruz. I saw that people are really trying to push him for an endorsement for Donald Trump. They're not sure that he will. He has a high profile speaking role. New Ingrid's will be speaking -- Newt Gingrich will be speaking. Pence and Trump are in town today with their families, their holding an event, which delayed our arrival to the convention site. The California delegation and you are with them at that hotel, way out of town. They heard from a couple of well-known names this morning. We heard from Omorosso, who was on the apprentice and then went back for two more seasons on various iterations of the show. She's been tapped by Trump to reach out to African-American voters. She took a softer tone at breakfast this morning. Really reaching out to people, telling them that it hurts are when people attack Donald Trump, because she knows and personally. She said she hated to see Melania Trump attacked for the plagiarism charges. The people in that room, completely agreed with her, nodding their heads. I have to interrupt, Ann Coulter was there. Yes. She was there and she got people fired up as well. I've been speaking with Katie Orr, KQED politics and government reporter.

UPDATE: 10 a.m., July 20, 2016

Conservative author Ann Coulter threw some red meat to California Republicans Wednesday morning as she spoke at the state's GOP convention delegation breakfast.

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Ann Coulter speaks at California's GOP convention delegation breakfast, July 20, 2016.
Ben Adler / Capital Public Radio
Ann Coulter speaks at California's GOP convention delegation breakfast, July 20, 2016.

"I'd sort of like to have at the convention some of the delegates — we need a presentation just from California to warn the country what will happen if we don't elect Trump."

Coulter also joked that while Donald Trump's slogan is "Make America great again," Hillary Clinton's slogan is "Make America California — without the nice beaches."

The California delegation isn't drawing big-name elected officials this week like House Speaker Paul Ryan or Ohio Governor John Kasick. That's because delegates are staying an hour from downtown and California is neither a red state nor a swing state.

Norovirus update

The norovirus outbreak that struck the California delegation to the Republican National Convention appears to be subsiding.

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The state Republican Party says there have been no new infections in the last 24 hours, leaving the number of staffers and volunteers to have contracted the virus at 14. At least one of those staff members was able to rejoin the delegation Tuesday night at the convention. No convention delegates have been infected with the virus.

The state GOP says the Erie County Health Department confirmed through testing that there was indeed a norovirus outbreak. The party is also in communication with the Ohio Department of Public Health, and says it's following all state and county health directives.

Original post

Donald Trump has said he thinks he can win California in the November election. And the state's Republican National Convention delegates think so, too — even though he trails by 30 points.

Bernie Mulligan of Morgan Hill is convinced Donald Trump will win the White House.

"This guy will beat Hillary," says Mulligan. "That, I've got money on. Literally, got money on it."

Mulligan's optimism is nearly unanimous in the California delegation. And it's backed by recent polls showing Trump catching up to Clinton, and in some cases, taking a narrow lead. But Mulligan goes further than that. He says Trump can win California - even though a recent Field Poll showed him at just 28 percent.

"I think you're in for a surprise here and I'll tell you why," says Mulligan. "I think this is Ronald Reagan, 1980 all over again. I really believe that. And I think you're gonna be amazed on Election Night when you see that map turn about 80 percent red."

Many other delegates said they, too, thought Trump could win California. And Trump himself said as much just before last month's primary.

Alternate Jeff Barke from Orange County wouldn't quite go that far, but he still praised the spirit of Trump's comment.

"I know Trump has had this idea that he can win California," says Barke. "I don't know that that's true or not, because I think California strongly leans to the left. But I think his vision of actually trying to accomplish that is a good one."

The delegation's enthusiasm reverberated through the convention hall as Pasadena delegate Shirley Husar cast California's votes in the roll call of states.

"And I am proud to place 172 votes to the nominee of the next president of the United States, Donald J. Trump," says Husar.

Copyright Capital Public Radio 2016.