Travis Allen to Run for California Governor

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

In Sacramento there are less true conservatives than fingers I have on my two hands, or at least it often seems that way.  That said, among the really good conservatives in the State legislature who really take the fight to the Democrats, Assemblyman Travis Allen is among that group of fighters.  Now, the Orange County resident says he's going to jump into the 2018 Governor's race in California.

So far, the announcements have been by small candidates who don't have the money, and by businessman John Cox who has been championing a disastrous idea he calls the Neighborhood Legislature that would increase the size of the bureaucracy in the name of reducing the size of the districts with the claim that with less constituents the representatives will be more beholden to those who voted for them.

If smaller populations for representation kills corruption, how do you explain the corruption of city council members?

Allen's announcement comes shortly after his demand that the recently signed $52 billion vehicle tax and fee package be repealed has reached the ears of Californians.  The same kind of egregious gas tax law got Gray Davis recalled, so surely a Republican can convince voters to swing to a more conservative posture on their ballots in the face of the latest monstrosity.

“I’ve seen our taxes increase to be among the highest in the nation,” Allen said in his announcement, where he also bemoaned the rise in crime and general expansion of state government bureaucracy.

In an interview, he hammered away at Democrats for their support of sanctuary cities that shield unauthorized immigrants, a universal, government-run health care system and the April gas tax increase that required nearly $1 billion in district-specific projects to win over uncertain colleagues.

“The California Democratic Party has offered solutions that don’t work and has increasingly become socialist in its nature, leaving Reagan Democrats and blue collar Californians far behind. Californians are looking for something different.

“If anyone has taken the time to look at my voting record, they’ll find that I am anything but part of the political establishment in California,” Allen added. “I am all in. The people of California deserve nothing less. The people of California deserve a governor who will actually listen to them ... and not to the public-sector union bosses.”

If he can wield a Thor-like hammer of a personality like Trump did, Allen might have a chance to pull it off, even in deep blue California.

Allen has been in Sacramento as an Assemblyman since 2012, and he has been very good at drawing sharp contrasts between the GOP and supermajority Democrats in Sacramento.  The Democrats have been drawing a significant amount of criticism for their policies both at the State level, and in the cities, and the time may be ripe for a conservative like Travis Allen.  Minimum wage hikes have driven out businesses, for example.  But, for Allen, it was the gas tax that turned out to be the straw that shoved him into the race.  It is so draconian, Allen believes the push to get a repeal of the gas tax on the ballot will not only be successful, but that his support for it will be what it takes to propel him into the governor's mansion.

Allen's recent emergence as a power-player in the California Republican Party began when he wrote an article that received major national attention, with a headline that read, “California Democrats legalize child prostitution.” “Beginning on Jan. 1, prostitution by minors will be legal in California,” Allen wrote, arguing that when government decriminalizes something, they legalize it.

While the liberal left declared Allen didn't know what he was talking about, at the time, Allen stood by his position that the law the Democrats put out decriminalizing prostitution for minors by barring officers from arresting people under 18 for soliciting sex or loitering with intent to commit prostitution, was exactly what it sounds like. . . the legalization of child prostitution.

Allen said of the issue, “When I saw that, I thought it was evil.”

Aside from the long list of no-name Republicans, and businessman John Cox, the California Governor's race also includes leading Democrats Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (who is also the former mayor of San Francisco), former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Treasurer John Chiang and former state schools chief Delaine Eastin.

With the top two rule in California's open primary system (a system that is also being challenged by a potential repeal), it is imperative in this election for the Republican voters to get behind only one candidate if they don't want to see the same thing they saw last year with the U.S. Senate race, where two Democrats wound up on the ballot for the general election with no Republican coming close enough because the votes were scattered among a long list of candidates.

Allen does not believe any of the other Republicans will gain much momentum, including Cox who may have some “interesting ideas,” but he lacks the political experience and any real policy depth.

Cox has gotten a good head start, though, seeding his campaign with $3 million of his own money. 

Allen's strategy is already going into place, including using his support for the statewide gas tax repeal effort which should boost his notoriety, as well as a pile of 11 million paid mailers already ready to go out to voters.  Also, Travis Allen states he has built the largest social media reach of any elected Republican in California.  That, coupled with the fact that the Democrats may wind up spreading their votes too thin on their list of candidates, Allen believes he has a legitimate shot.

While some say the skirmish between Allen and Cox may be reminiscent of the Donnelly-Kashkari bout last time, the truth is, the Republican elite will have no desire to place any money behind Cox like they did for Kashkari because of Cox's neighborhood legislature idea.  So, either Allen will essentially run unopposed as a Republican, or a last minute insertion of an establishment candidate, like the GOP did with Kashkari four years ago, is in the making.

Time will tell.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary