Ordinary Americans are just starting to tune in to the 2024 elections.
But they may not be ready for the fireworks coming their way in a matter of weeks.
Because this looming October 1 showdown could change everything for Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.
The second Republican Presidential Primary debate of the 2024 nominating contest is coming up on September 27 at the Ronald Reagan Library in California.
But the real fireworks will begin a few days later when members of the California Republican Party will make an important decision.
Eight candidates participated in the first debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with frontrunner Donald Trump opting instead for a sit-down interview with Tucker Carlson.
But the second debate has stricter qualification guidelines than the first.
To qualify for the second debate, candidates must have a minimum of 50,000 unique donors and be polling at a minimum of 3% in two national surveys or one national poll and two polls conducted in two early states.
Donald Trump has not announced whether or not he plans to participate in the second debate.
But his top opponent, Ron DeSantis, is excited and ready for another opportunity to make his case to Republican voters across the country.
However, the debate may not be the biggest political battle among Republicans that takes place in California that week.
The California Republican Party’s 2023 state convention kicks off on Friday, September 29 in Anaheim.
And while Democrats dominate California in the General Election, it could play an important role in the GOP Primary process given the number of delegates in the large state.
“California is a significant prize in the presidential primaries, with more delegates than any other state,” NBC News reported. “Previously, California Republicans used to assign delegates by congressional district,” NBC continued, before adding “but in late July, the party wrote a new rule to change the way it operates, making the transition to a potential winner-take-all state.”
This means that whichever candidate wins more than 50% of the state will receive all the delegates.
However, if no candidate breaks 50%, the delegates will be awarded proportionally.
Previously, the top two candidates in each Congressional District were awarded the delegates in that district.
This allowed candidates who couldn’t win the entire state to focus on more conservative districts and still have a shot at winning delegates.
According to NBC News, “allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump signal they are preparing to fight over the state party’s new delegate rules — a battle with major implications for the important Super Tuesday contest.”
Delegate rules will be finalized on October 1.
Both Trump and DeSantis are scheduled to speak at the convention.
But their campaign operatives will be focused on making sure the best delegate rule gets passed that benefits their team the most.
And with Trump leading by a large margin in the California polls, DeSantis would fare better with the traditional rules.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
