Nasty debate with fellow Republican Tim Donnelly.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: California gubernatorial hopeful Neel Kashkari participated in a debate against fellow Republican primary candidate Tim Donnelly last week, trying to establish himself as the more moderate and reasonable Republican candidate against Donnelly’s more conservative stance.
Both Kashkari (40) and Donnelly are vying to replace Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat who many believe will likely win re-election comfortably in November. During the debate, Kashkari called Donnelly out on a number of issues, namely his apparent insensitivity towards religious minorities like Jews and Hindus.
Kashkari pointed out that Donnelly accused him of propagating sharia law, mistakenly implying that Kashkari is a Muslim fundamentalist simply because of the color of his skin. Donnelly tactfully dodged the accusation, accusing Kashkari of flogging a dead horse to draw attention away from the real issues. Kashkari was debating Donnelly in a room full of the latter’s supporters, and struggled to assert himself at times.
Kashkari has stated numerous times that, although technically a Republican, he is liberal when it comes to social issues, such as same-sex marriage. Kashkari is hoping that his ability to reach across party lines will get him votes from both the left and the right, instead of simply alienating his own party while garnering no favor with Democratic voters.
However, even if the debate wasn’t 100% successful for Kashkari, the Republican candidate picked up a strong endorsement from the Sacramento Bee on Sunday.
The Bee, based in the state’s capital city, called Kashkari “the clear choice for voters dissatisfied with Brown.” Additionally, the paper called Kashkari “intelligent and driven,” saying that he could “force Brown to engage in discussion about economic development, poverty and other pressing issues, which would be good for the governor and the state.”
Needless to say, Kashkari is all-in at this point, with the primary set to take place on June 3. Kashkari put another $1 million into his campaign on Friday, and is hoping that the investment will carry him into the second phase of the election, which will end on November 4.
Under California’s new electoral system, all candidates will appear on the same ballot in the primary, in what is called a “jungle primary.” The two candidates with the highest total votes, regardless of their party affiliation, will advance to the general election in November.