This story initially was revealed by Real Clear Wire
The night time earlier than former Vice President Kamala Harris re-emerged on the political scene in a speech rallying Democrats to “lock in” to combat President Trump, one in all Trump’s prime lieutenants issued a warning.
If Harris makes an attempt to rehabilitate her political profession by working for governor of California, Ric Grenell, Trump’s envoy for particular missions, reiterated his plans to contemplate leaping into the race himself.
“If she runs, I believe Republicans must rethink the truth that we’ve got a shot,” he informed a crowd at a personal occasion in Calabasas, California, Tuesday night time. “Sure, if she runs, I’m going to take a tough take a look at it.”
Proper now, Grenell is serving as Trump’s interim director of the John F. Kennedy Middle for the Performing Arts and longtime overseas coverage adviser. In February, Grenell was instrumental in liberating 5 People held hostage in Venezuela, and over the past day, his identify, together with a number of others, has been floated as a attainable substitute for former Nationwide Safety Adviser Mike Waltz. Trump introduced Thursday that Waltz can be leaving the submit to turn out to be United Nations ambassador in a serious shakeup of his nationwide safety group.
Grenell, who refers to himself because the president’s “fixer,” is an in depth Trump confidante who has served in a wide range of roles, together with appearing director of nationwide intelligence and ambassador to Germany throughout Trump’s first time period. Earlier this yr, Grenell, identified for his blunt speak and contentious strategy to overseas coverage, served as Trump’s emissary in the course of the devastating California wildfires, strongly backing his calls to connect circumstances to any federal catastrophe assist to assist Los Angeles rebuild.
In the course of the presidential transition, Grenell was a contender for secretary of state, however that position went to Marco Rubio. Now the roving envoy position offers Grenell the liberty to maintain his choices open and enter the crowded California gubernatorial area if the political dynamics appear proper.
Even when Trump faucets Grenell to fill the nationwide safety adviser position, he nonetheless has time to find out whether or not to leap into the California governor’s race. The election is greater than a yr and a half away, and candidates have till March 2026 to file their paperwork.
Over the previous few weeks, as hypothesis swirled about Harris’ intentions, a number of candidates on either side of the aisle have joined the race, together with conservative commentator and Fox Information contributor Steve Hilton and Biden’s Well being and Human Companies Secretary Xavier Becerra. The pool consists of Republican and former Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco, and several other Democrats: Rep. Katie Porter, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, State Senate President Professional Tem Toni Atkins, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former State Controller Betty Yee, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, and entrepreneur Stephen Cloobeck.
Whoever decides to run, the Democratic supermajority-controlled state is an extended shot for Republicans. No GOP candidate has received statewide since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s landslide re-election in 2007. With out a Hollywood blockbuster film star or one other widely known character within the combine, a Republican candidate for governor faces lengthy odds.
Nonetheless, a late March ballot exhibiting Californians warming to the concept of a Republican governor is stirring hopes amid the GOP. Nearly 50% of likely California voters mentioned they’re now contemplating voting for a Republican for governor in 2026, with 71% expressing dissatisfaction over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s and legislative leaders’ data on addressing California’s excessive value of dwelling. Such a big area of Democratic gubernatorial candidates may divide Democratic and unbiased voters, giving a conservative or unbiased candidate a possible opening, however provided that the variety of right-leaning candidates within the race stays restricted.
To date, Grenell has mentioned he’s centered on paving the best way for conservative candidates throughout the state relatively than throwing his personal hat within the ring. He says his political motion committee, Repair California, which he based in 2021, registered 200,000 new conservative voters final yr alone.
The group’s registration efforts have corresponded with a big uptick in Republican voter registrations in recent times – some 775,000 new Republicans have been added to the voter rolls since 2019, in keeping with the California Republican Social gathering. During the last yr, GOP voter registrations have elevated by greater than 100,000 whereas Democrats have declined by tens of hundreds, in keeping with stories from the California Secretary of State.
The California GOP didn’t spend money on these efforts, nonetheless, and several other state conservative activists have mentioned the credit score goes to Grenell and Repair California.
Final yr’s voter registration drive was notably profitable in flipping Congressional District 41 from blue, serving to longtime California GOP Rep. Ken Calvert maintain on to his seat in a good re-election final yr.
Grenell mentioned he goals to copy the outcomes of Stacey Abrams’ Truthful Battle group’s five-year digital voter-registration program that made once-red Georgia a swing state, and related efforts in Florida and Ohio. Repair California officers have recognized 1.4 million Californians that it desires to register to vote by the 2026 midterm elections to assist Trump keep a Republican majority, keep away from one other spherical of impeachment efforts in Congress, and provides a conservative candidate a greater shot at a gubernatorial win.
“I do a variety of jobs, however Repair California is one in all my favorites,” Grenell informed supporters Wednesday night time. “I don’t receives a commission. … I do all this work as a result of I believe that the one approach to save this state is to do one thing that’s very unsexy – simply register folks to vote.”
Trump has thrown his help behind Repair California’s efforts, elevating $3 million in a single Los Angeles fundraiser in 2021, whereas first girl Melania Trump headlined one other occasion which raked in $1 million, Grenell mentioned.
Some 50% of Californians aren’t registered to vote, and of the 50% who’re, solely roughly 40% go and vote in any given election, Grenell mentioned.
“You’ll be able to’t have this small group of the identical individuals who vote and decide our leaders,” Grenell added. “We now have to broaden the pool, and I consider that if we will do this, we will change Sacramento.”
There’s a superb likelihood, he added, that these sitting on the sidelines in California, the place Democrats maintain all statewide elected places of work and supermajorities within the legislature, are “commonsense conservatives” who don’t consider their vote will rely or “aren’t charged up or they only wish to thoughts their very own enterprise.”
Grenell is difficult all right-leaning candidates within the governor’s race to spend half of all cash they elevate on voter registration drives. “I’m uninterested in folks working, elevating hundreds of thousands of {dollars}, shedding, and strolling away with their very own lists,” he mentioned. “They lose, they stroll away, and the subsequent particular person has to begin throughout.”
Katie Zacharia, who serves as senior adviser to Repair California, says that the group’s efforts might be instrumental in serving to Republicans win again swing California Home seats as a result of newly registered voters are extremely prone to vote within the subsequent election. Two Republican Home members, former Reps. Michelle Metal and John Duarte, misplaced to Democratic challengers Derek Tran and John Grey, respectively, by lower than one share level in November, whereas two different Republicans misplaced by simply three share factors.
“Statistically, 80% of those that are newly registered end up,” Zacharia informed RealClearPolitics.
Within the aftermath of the devastating wildfires, Grenell means that Los Angeles County, with its 9.78 million inhabitants, is prime territory to choose up registrations from conservatives and independents fed up with the Democrats’ document of failed management.
Grenell predicted that Angelenos would help the strings he’s urgent Trump to connect to any launch of federal wildfire catastrophe cash to the state. Congress is about to contemplate that catastrophe aid package deal within the late spring or summer time.
He additionally mentioned he’s combating to implement circumstances for these federal funds “come hell or excessive water.” Grenell is urgent Trump to demand that state Democrats intestine the California Environmental High quality Act, a collection of rules requiring state companies to mitigate the environmental impacts of their work, and the elimination of the California Coastal Fee, which extremely regulates constructing and improvement close to seashores and coastlines.
Newsom earlier this yr waived many points of each for the post-wildfire rebuilding course of in Los Angeles, however eliminating the wide-ranging environmental legal guidelines in California is an formidable, extremely unlikely process, contemplating the supermajority management of each homes of the state legislature. California Legal professional Common Rob Bonta is already combating a number of of Trump’s sweeping government orders threatening its federal funding in court docket.
But, the wildfires shined such an intense nationwide highlight on California authorities mismanagement this yr that Grenell believes there’s a singular however fleeting alternative to shift California politics.
“Except we shift the paradigm of voter registration, we aren’t going to win, however we do have an opportunity,” Grenell mentioned. “The fires have given us an unbelievable second. We can not miss this second.”
This text was initially revealed by RealClearPolitics and made out there by way of RealClearWire.
Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics’ nationwide political correspondent.
