海角大神

Lance Watanabe has long bought into Republican ideals. He does not, however, buy into Donald Trump.

鈥淚 just don鈥檛 feel he鈥檚 qualified,鈥� says Mr. Watanabe, a commercial real estate manager who lives in Santa Monica. 鈥淚 watched him debate in the primaries and I never really was convinced with his arguments. I just hear him belittling his opponents so they can鈥檛 respond. That鈥檚 not the way to find solutions.鈥�

James Mustain isn't enamored either, but the听lifelong Republican sees no alternative.

鈥淚 look at things through a biblical view. [Trump] doesn鈥檛 see the world through that biblical view,鈥� says Mr. Mustain, a conservative 海角大神 who teaches middle school in La Crescenta, just north of Los Angeles.听But听鈥淚 categorically oppose all of [Hillary Clinton's] viewpoints. In my eyes, Trump is the lesser of two evils that we鈥檙e faced with.鈥澨�

The two men鈥檚 different responses echo the frustration and discord Trump's candidacy has sown among the GOP elite. Over the past few weeks, prominent Republicans have refused to show their support for their party鈥檚 nominee or 鈥� like Silicon Valley executive Meg Whitman 鈥� outright defected to the Clinton camp. Reports of tensions among Trump鈥檚 staff and plots by his allies to intervene in his campaign have only added to the picture of disunity. 听

Interviews with GOP stalwarts like Watanabe and Mustain suggest that the turmoil is making its way down to voters in California, where听a core conservative constituency continues to exist in the northern inland areas, Southern California outside of Los Angeles County, and the Central Valley.

So while the Golden State will almost certainly vote Democrat come November, political analysts say it鈥檚 still a good place from which to do a gut check on how establishment Republican voters across the nation are feeling about Trump and their party.

鈥淐alifornia is America, only more so,鈥� says听Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California, echoing the听听from听author Wallace Stegner.听鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 talking about voter attitudes about Donald Trump when he said it, but he might as well have been.鈥�

Fractured coalition

Trump鈥檚 success in the primaries as a populist candidate underscores a GOP disconnect that has been papered over for decades in California.听

鈥淔or the last two generations, Republicans have used a combination of economic, foreign policy, and cultural conservatism to form a coalition,鈥� says Professor Schnur. 鈥淲hen Republicans were able to succeed here, it鈥檚 by combining the social and cultural conservative priorities of rural and inland voters with the economic and national security conservatism of suburban and coastal voters."

鈥淲hat you鈥檙e seeing now is economic and cultural conservatives 鈥� going in largely different directions,鈥� he adds.听

But the Trump campaign has gone further than that, crossing red lines that have upset both camps. His lack of听commitment to free markets, for example, is alienating economic conservatives while his support of issues like gay rights cuts against values of the cultural conservatives.听

鈥淚 understand where they鈥檙e coming from,鈥� says Mustain, the middle school teacher, of the Republicans who have publicly denounced Trump. Though he will vote for the man, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see that Mr. Trump and I have the same eye to social issues. He could be persuaded one way or another on certain issues, issues that to me would be fundamental.鈥�

鈥淚 just don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 conveying his message diplomatically,鈥� adds Watanabe, the real estate manager. 鈥淚t鈥檚 terrifying that the Republican party has actually elected this guy 鈥� who doesn鈥檛 have the professionalism of a presidential candidate 鈥� [or] to build the relationships among his own party. To me that鈥檚 really indicative of an inability to collaborate for a common goal.鈥�

鈥淚 work in an office full of Republicans that do not support Donald Trump,鈥� he adds.

Another base

None of this is to imply that Trump has no strong base of support. In fact, a flood of small donations over the past two months 鈥溾�� Mrs. Clinton鈥檚 month-to-month fundraising advantage against him, reflecting his populist appeal.

It's just that, until Trump's candidacy, this populist group of Republican voters hadn't shown the clout of the economic and cultural conservatives.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e a traditional economic conservative who has presumably succeeded because of your ability to work effectively in this system, [Trump] is probably less appealing,鈥� Schnur says.听

In California, that contingent would include Silicon Valley bigwigs like Ms. Whitman 鈥� which is why her defection doesn't surprise Schnur.听

鈥淸But] if you鈥檙e an economically populist, blue-collar voter afraid of what the technology-driven economy holds for you,鈥� he notes, 鈥淸Trump鈥檚] challenge to the establishment can be very inspiring.鈥�

Thousands of supporters showed up to Trump's rallies here in the weeks leading up to the California primary on June 7. His appearance drew heated protests, but packed venues in Sacramento, Costa Mesa, San Diego and elsewhere in the state.听

鈥淐onservative intellectuals, and conservative politicians, have been in kind of a bubble,鈥澨齊epublican intellectual Avik Roy听.听鈥淲e鈥檝e had this view that the voters were with us on conservatism 鈥� philosophical, economic conservatism. In reality, the gravitational center of the Republican Party is white nationalism.鈥�

California's eclectic Trumpism

In California, at least, that appeal has moved beyond whites to at least some degree.听Trump's rallies, though majority white, included Middle-Eastern 海角大神 conservatives and Latino small business owners. Even the Chinese community had its own contingent.听

David S., an Iranian-American who did not wish his last name be used,听considers himself a Trump supporter. 听Although sometimes the way the real estate mogul talks grates on him, ultimately Trump stands for things that he as an immigrant and business owner can鈥檛 help but agree with, he says.

鈥淚 like most of the ideas he brings about,鈥� says Mr. S., who moved to the United States from Iran in 1969 and now owns a rug and carpet business in West Hollywood. He is especially drawn to Trump鈥檚 tough stance on border security: 鈥淔reedom doesn鈥檛 come free. We have to protect it. If you have a big house, would you like the windows, the doors, the gates open? You don鈥檛 care if somebody robs you? Murders you?鈥�

鈥淚 wish he would just filter his temper and attitude,鈥� he adds. 鈥淏ut I think he鈥檒l be good for business. Strong for veterans, the army, creating jobs. Fighting ISIS. A lot of important issues.鈥� 听

Despite the criticism and chaos, most Republican leaders say they would rather stick with the nominee they already have rather than risk the consequences of abandoning him three months before Election Day. The GOP has congressional majorities to protect, not to mention the thousands of Republican candidates in state and local races. As long as Trump remains relatively popular, party leaders are likely to keep backing him.听

The same may be true for Republicans at the polls, in California and elsewhere.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 reasonable to assume that a large number [of them] might vote for Trump,鈥� Schnur says. 鈥淲hether they switch sides or simply sit it out is a lot tougher to predict.鈥�