What John Cox doesn’t want to talk about in his race for California governor
So would Republican businessman
"We're here to talk about the gas tax, about the affordability of life in
Seeking to become the first Republican elected statewide since 2006, Cox has focused his underdog campaign on two key promises that have galvanized the state's conservative base: repealing a recent increase to transportation fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees to pay for road repairs, and undoing the controversial "sanctuary state" law that limits how police can assist federal immigration authorities.
That emphasis comes at the expense of a public airing of his positions on just about any other issue that could come before a governor who will wade into a growing confrontation with the Trump administration and must sign or veto hundreds of bills passed annually by the liberal Legislature.
Cox has declined interview requests from
"We have the highest poverty rate in the country and millions of forgotten Californians can't afford food, utilities, gas or housing," campaign spokesman
A new strategy
Sticking to a few key points is a common campaign strategy, allowing politicians to craft and hammer home a core message for voters.
Cox previously sought to enter the political arena as a crusader against government corruption, including by sponsoring an unsuccessful initiative that would have expanded legislative representation at the local level. With his opposition to the gas tax increase, which kicked in last November despite an overflowing state budget, he has reinvented himself as the champion of the "forgotten Californian" who will make it affordable to live here again.
Republican consultant
"It sounds like he's being a very good, disciplined campaigner," she said. "The gas tax is a perfect issue for him to be running on, and if I was him, it's all I would be talking about, too."
But there's a fine line between controlling the message and losing it altogether, said
"The risk becomes that the definition of his candidacy is the lack of positions," Stutzman said.
Cox still has plenty of time to build out his platform, he added. For issues that may be a distraction, the trick is to bring the questions back to the central themes of your campaign.
"When you run for governor, there are dozens of issues that it is reasonable to have at least a modicum of an answer," Stutzman said.
Shupe provided links to previous interviews and candidate debates where he said Cox had already addressed The Bee's questions.
Cox participated in dozens of forums during the primary, Shupe wrote, most of which his opponent in November, Democratic Lt. Gov. "
Skeptical about climate change
Cox has told various news outlets that he believes the climate is changing, but he is skeptical about how much of that is caused by humans, and he thinks it may provide some benefits.
He opposes two of the state's most prominent policies for cutting harmful greenhouse gas emissions: cap-and-trade and mandates for
No plan on homelessness
After Newsom last month released a plan to assist the state's skyrocketing homeless population, Cox declined to discuss whether he had specific proposals of his own for providing emergency shelter, permanent housing or mental health treatment.
Cox has blamed the rising cost of building housing for kicking people out of their homes in
Abortion is personal
Liberals are trying to make an issue of Cox's opposition to abortion, particularly as President
Shortly before announcing his own brief run for president in 2006, Cox told conservative activists that he opposed abortion in all circumstances, including rape and incest. He has said in past interviews and a book that his views were shaped by learning that his mother, who was raped by his biological father, would have terminated her pregnancy had abortion been legal then.
Shupe wrote that Cox has "been endorsed by the
Garry South, a Democratic strategist who managed
"The problem for Cox is that he can't talk about most of his positions because they are diametrically opposed to where most Californians are on the issues," South said. "He doesn't have a lot of tools in his toolkit."
South said he would encourage Newsom to get Cox into a debate and pin him down on the things he doesn't want to talk about. The two campaigns have been publicly squabbling over how many times and on what network to debate this fall.
"If I were
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