BLOOMINGTON, MINN. — California Republicans are outnumbered. Their president is unpopular. But as they arrive here for the GOP national convention, John McCain has given them a jolt of excitement by choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
"She is a hero for us," said Mike Spence, head of the California Republican Assembly, whose members are among the most the state's conservative voters. "She took on the Republican sellouts who just want to hold onto power."
Spence, who initially backed Mitt Romney's candidacy, figures he and McCain are in accord on maybe 80% of the issues.
But on Friday, Spence was in the hotel banquet room with the Council on National Policy, the influential group of religious and other conservatives, when Palin's selection was announced. Like others there, he stood and applauded. "This energizes disaffected Republicans," Spence said. "This is exactly the message of change that was needed."
California's Republican Party long has been split into conservative and moderate factions. Moderates tended to embrace McCain. Conservatives were critical. Whether the state's most conservative Republicans would fall in line behind McCain had been in doubt. Not now, though, with Palin on his ticket.
Several delegates cited Palin's decision to have a baby, 4-month-old Trig, knowing he had Down syndrome.
"We have a lot of pro-life rhetoric," said delegate Tom Bordonaro, the San Luis Obispo County assessor. "She has been there and made the choice. She made the choice for life."
Delegate Miryam Mora, 26, will be voting for the first time in November, having gained citizenship a few months ago. Mora grew up in El Monte, the daughter of migrant farm and garment workers, and was the first in her family to graduate from college.
She is taking leave from her job to volunteer full-time for McCain. When McCain selected Palin, Mora became more certain that she had made the right choice in supporting the Republican ticket. "I'm so amazed by her story," she said, noting that Palin is a mother of five, was involved in the PTA and "took on her party" by running against Gov. Frank Murkowski.
Her decision to have Trig affected Mora too: "She was faced with a decision of having an abortion, and she decided she was going to be there for him. . . . It shows a lot about her character."
As the Republican National Convention opens, many of the 343 California delegates and alternates originally backed candidates other than McCain.
