OAKLAND, Calif.-Despite being interrupted by death penalty protestors at a rally yesterday, Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R) made clear his intentions to secure a victory in tomorrow's California primary elections.
Although polls show his opponent, Arizona Senator John McCain, as an underdog in the race, McCain's campaign coordinators in San Francisco were optimistic and said there is a distinct possibility the Senator will win the overall popular vote in California even if they lose the Republican delegates.
"In California I think we are still behind but we are moving up," said Sue Woods, McCain's San Francisco campaign coordinator. "It's really kind of hard because the popular vote doesn't mean anything in terms of delegates."
The 613 Republican delegates at stake across the nation tomorrow make up 59 percent of the 1,034 delegates necessary to secure the GOP nomination. Bush now has 170 delegates to McCain's 106.
At the rally, an anti-death penalty group began chanting "no more executions" during Bush's speech. The candidate was unfazed, and said afterwards that he is convinced every criminal executed in Texas was guilty.
Making a public appearance in front of about 300 people, the presidential hopeful outlined some of the key issues in the race for the Republican nomination.
Bush underscored the importance of making education available to all children. He also said he is committed to helping college students find jobs after graduation.
"I understand there's a gap of hope in America - there are some people wondering whether the American dream is for them," Bush said in an interview with The Cavalier Daily. "I'm a person who understands that today's world is uncertain. I want to help bring certainty to our uncertain world."
Although The New York Times and other New York papers have endorsed McCain, Bush said he remains confident he can also win that state's primary.
"John can have the newspaper endorsements and I'll take the vote," Bush said. "We have a good grassroots team, but more importantly people are hearing the message of mine."
His message seems to be working. McCain is trailing Bush by as many as 20 points among likely Republican voters in California, according to MSNBC. The same polls indicate the two candidates are neck-and-neck for the popular vote in California - though only votes from registered Republicans determine who receives the state's 162 delegates.
MSNBC/Reuters polls published Saturday show Bush ahead of McCain by almost 20 points among likely Republican voters in several other states, including Ohio, Missouri and Maryland.
Even if he loses California's delegates, McCain's campaign can recover, Woods said. She pointed out that former President Ronald Reagan lost the Republican Party's nomination in 1976 despite winning California's delegates.
"The message we're trying to put out now is that John McCain is the person who can beat Al Gore," she said.
But McCain still faces somewhat of an uphill battle against what Woods referred to as the Republican "establishment." Several senators have publicly supported Bush simply because some assumed Bush was a shoe-in for the Republican nomination, she said.
"This was all planned out before McCain really even started to get on the radar screen," she added.
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