Trump took to Twitter this week to endorse incumbent GOP Rep. Paul Cook — who represents one of California’s most conservative congressional districts — over former Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, a Tea Party favorite and co-founder of the California Minutemen, an anti-illegal immigration border watch group.
Donnelly, a 2012 GOP gubernatorial candidate from a suburban district near San Diego, had already earned the backing of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul, and conservative stalwarts like Iowa Rep. Steve King and blogger Charlie Kirk.
A loyal supporter of Trump in a state where the president’s approval ratings hover near 38 percent, Donnelly earlier this year led a crowd of several hundred #MAGA activists to the border to cheer on the president during a trip in which Trump viewed border wall prototypes — an effort to counter widespread demonstrations by immigration advocates and Democratic activists in the solidly blue state.
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