Republican National Committeeman Shawn Steel spoke to a group of 30 Republicans at the Colonial Kitchen on Saturday.
The Republican National Committee is responsible for nominating and electing a Presidential candidate, while the Central Committee is the governing body for the Republican Party in Los Angeles.
Steel spoke primarily about Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee. Trump was near the bottom of Steel’s list of preferred candidates when the nomination race started, but Steel has since thrown his support behind Trump.
“Trump jumped through all the hoops,” he said. “If you’re in the RNC and you’re not committed, it’s time to go.”
Trump’s rise, Steel explained, can be understood in the context of pop-culture’s domination of political culture.
Steel attributed part of Trump’s success to the reality TV star’s pop-culture experience. “He’s bringing [the media outlets] millions of dollars,” Steel said, claiming that Trump has found a way to overwhelm American media and control the news cycle.
“Beyoncé probably has more influence than 20 senators,” he said.
Steel added that Trump’s nontraditional campaign style has played an important role in his political success. “He’s not a Republican clone,” said Steel, adding his observation that voters don’t get offended when Trump attacks fellow Republicans. “He’s not doing the micro politics. He’s doing the big picture.”
As for Trump’s chances in the general election in November, Steel said that Trump is looking for the right tagline to pin on Democratic Presidential Candidate Hilary Clinton. “I’ve seen a lot of inevitable champions ground up by Trump.”
When asked about Trump’s long-term impact on the Republican Party, Steel answered, “Trump is not going to remake our party. It’s too big. It’s beyond him.”
Steel discussed one local race in particular during his speech, the race for the 25th California State Senate District. That office is currently occupied by Senator Carol Liu (D-Pasadena), who will be termed out at the end of the year. In a year when “[Republicans] are supposed to be losing seats in Los Angeles County,” Steel said, Republicans in the San Gabriel Valley have “one of the biggest opportunities to pick up the old Pat Nolan neighborhood.”
Steel was very enthusiastic about Mike Antonovich, the 36-year Los Angeles County Supervisor who is running to replace Senator Liu. He hopes that the district’s familiarity with the Antonovich name will carry him through to the end.
