Kern County Republicans have mixed feelings about Donald Trump being the sole GOP nominee, after Texas Senator Ted Cruz dropped out Tuesday night and Ohio Governor John Kasich stepped down Wednesday morning.
"I feel like I have been abandoned on the ship... We don't seem to have a viable captain," Sandra McFarland said.
Some Republicans in Kern County feel it doesn't matter if Trump's the nominee. "I'm going to vote for the Republican candidate whoever it is... because not voting is a vote for Hillary," Jamie Mulkey said.
"I think the majority of people here in Bakersfield are going to be voting for Trump," Mulkey said.
Our county is resoundingly Republican. There are 129.452 registered Republicans, which is 10,000 more than Democrats and roughly 39% of all registered voters, according to the Kern County Elections Division.
With Trump as the sole option for California's primary, some registered Republicans are starting to sway.
"I don't like Mister Trump. He's a sort of shoot first and ask questions later kind of person. He has no experience in any kind of political office. He just makes me very nervous," McFarland said.
McFarland said she feels like she has no option, "this truly is going to end up being an election of the lesser of two evils."
While California now is not a deciding factor for the republican nominee, some are thinking about whether they would want to change their party affiliation in time to vote for the state primary June 7th.
If you do want to change your party preference, go online to the California Secretary of State website and re-register before May 23rd.
This is not the answer for some conservatives, "The other choice [Hillary Clinton] is so horrible, not that he [Donald Trump] is much better," McFarland said.
California is a closed primary state, so if you are an Independent, you will not be able to vote for either Trump, Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.
