Bush funding swing aims to bolster state Republicans. (Politics).PRESIDENT Bush is planning to visit Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. on June 27 as part of a California fundraising tour GOP leaders hope will raise at least $6 million for his re-election campaign. Bush will attend a $2,000-a-plate fundraising dinner at former President Ronald Reagan's favorite local stop, the Century Plaza Hotel The Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles is a landmark 19-story luxury hotel forming a sweeping crescent design fronting the spectacular fountains on Avenue of the Stars adjacent to the twin Century Plaza Towers. . With 1,500 expected guests, Bush stands to net $3 million. Earlier in the day, the president is scheduled to attend a similar-sized fundraiser at the San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden Airport Marriott Hotel in Burlingame. The chief organizers of Bush's California swing are his state finance chair, Brad Freeman (a partner at the investment firm Freeman Spogli) and his overall California point man, Gerald Parsky (a partner at Aurora Capital Partners). Freeman last month sent out a letter to GOP donors urging them to contribute and warning them that the 2004 race will be close -- even if the Democrats are nowhere near reaching a consensus on their nominee. Republican Party activists hope his visit will accomplish more than just money raising. They want the Bush visit to get the state Republican Party off its back and to reverse the tide of defeats in the last three statewide and national elections. "One of the main purposes of this visit is to help galvanize gal·va·nize tr.v. gal·va·nized, gal·va·niz·ing, gal·va·niz·es 1. To stimulate or shock with an electric current. 2. the Republican base," said Michael Wissot Michael Wissot (born 1974) is a Managing General Partner at SymAction Communications, a corporate communications and market research firm in the United States. He serves as an adjunct professor of communication at Pepperdine University. , executive director of the Los Angeles Republican Jewish Coalition The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) (formerly the National Jewish Coalition), founded in 1985, is a political lobbying group in the United States that advocates Jewish support for the Republican Party. . Wissot said that given Bush's current popularity in the polls, he could pull off the first GOP victory in a California election since 1988. In a statewide Field Poll taken in April, Bush held a 45 percent to 40 percent lead over the Democratic presidential nominee In United States politics and government, the phrase presidential nominee has two distinct meanings. The first is somebody chosen by the primary voters and caucus-goers of this party to be the party's nominee for President of the United States. slot in a general election simulation. Just as important for the statewide Republican Party, Wissot said, is the backing Bush could provide for more moderate GOP candidates in the next election cycle. "Bush will lend credibility to Republican candidates and should push for California Republicans to elect more pragmatic leaders," he said. Staff reporter Howard Fine can be reached by phone at (323) 549-5225, ext. 227, or by e-mail at hfine@labusinessjournal.com. |
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