SAN JOSE — California Republicans concluded their state convention Sunday after a weekend in which businessman Bill Simon Jr. stepped up his challenge to former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, accusing Riordan of being too liberal to represent Republicans in the race to beat Gov. Gray Davis.
On Sunday, Simon won an unscientific, nonbinding straw poll of delegates to the state Republican Party convention, edging out Secretary of State Bill Jones and Riordan.
In the poll, 40% backed Simon, compared with 27% supporting Riordan, whose campaign had tried to stop the balloting from taking place. Jones--whose campaign lags in fund-raising and was less of a presence at the convention--pulled in 32% of the 910 votes.
The survey, in which delegates pay for the opportunity to air their views, provides no scientific measure of general support and is derided by some analysts as meaningless. It does, however, capture the views of some of the party's most devoted members and can be a valuable public relations tool.
The straw poll capped a three-day event that revolved around a single, strategic debate: whether a moderate such as Riordan or a conservative in the mold of Simon or Jones would stand the best chance of defeating Democratic incumbent Davis in November.
Many delegates entered the convention with firm views on that question, and, if anything, those opinions seemed to harden over the weekend.
Confrontation Between Two Friends
As he appealed to conservatives, Simon also attracted attention by, for the first time, directly confronting Riordan, a friend. Simon challenged Riordan during Saturday's debate and called attention to the former mayor's views on some touchstone issues.
Simon also has tripled his spending on television advertising and is expected to air spots criticizing Riordan, who is already being pummeled by negative ads from Davis.
Riordan leads the three GOP candidates in early fund-raising and polls. Jones has yet to air advertisements.
Both Simon and Jones spent the weekend trying to rile up the hard-core Republican activists over Riordan's past support of Democrats and his insistence that the GOP must modify its positions on issues such as gun control and abortion to reclaim its political standing in California. By contrast, Jones and Simon contend that Republicans must remain true to those values, even if they alienate some California voters. The two campaigns trotted out a series of GOP officials who said they would not vote for Riordan in the general election if he prevails in the primaries.
