When a Hollywood production company is casting a big budget blockbuster movie, they typically use the same battle-tested formula; an A-list star, whose name and credits will boost ticket sales and generate interest, talented supporting actors, who may not have the same notoriety as the lead, but bring their own abilities and fan base to the table, and character actors to give the film an extra layer of depth.
The California Republican Party would do well to apply a similar plan to the world of politics.
If the California GOP really wants to be competitive in statewide elections they need to cast their field of candidates the same way that a movie studio would cast a big-budget thriller.
Instead, the California GOP is running character actors where A-listers belong.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Ruth Buzzi just as much as the next guy, but I’d never make her the lead in the next installment of “Deadpool.”
If current polling holds firm, California Republicans will fail to get a candidate on the November ballot for either the U.S. Senate or governor.
The current crop of candidates don’t have the star power to be competitive in a state as big, diverse and expensive as California.
If you don’t believe me, ask yourself the question — Why did the 2002 Republican candidate for governor, Bill Simon, lose to the deeply unpopular Democratic incumbent, Gray Davis, but Arnold Schwarzenegger cruised to victory a year later? Simon and Schwarzenegger had essentially the same political ideology, the same party affiliation and ran against the same person, but one ended up victorious and the other did not.
Why?
Box office pull, that’s why.
I know state Republican leaders say they’re running the best candidates they have because the pickings are slim. But maybe they’re just not looking in the right places.
Think about how different the dynamics of this mid-term election would look if Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young, former U.S. Airlines pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger or Los Angeles-based developer Rick Caruso had their names on the ballot?
I know it’s easy to dismiss these A-listers as pipe dreams, but their candidacy isn’t as far fetched as you might think.
The Rock is from Hayward, spoke at the 2000 Republican National Convention, and recently moved production of his hit HBO show “Ballers” from Florida to California.
Oh, he also told British GQ, “I can’t deny that the thought of being governor, the thought of being president, is alluring. And beyond that, it would be an opportunity to make a real impact on people’s lives on a global scale.”
Condoleeza Rice considered a run for the U.S. Senate in 2016 when Barbara Boxer retired, but ultimately decided to pass.
Steve Young spoke at the RNC in 2000, earned a law degree from BYU and currently works as a managing director of Huntsman Gay Global Capital, which he co-founded with billionaire industrialist Jon M. Huntsman and former Bain Capital executive Robert C. Gay.
Sully Sullenberger, a registered Republican from Danville, was encouraged to run for congress against Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, in 2010, but signed with CBS News as an aviation analyst instead.
Rick Caruso very nearly ran for mayor of Los Angeles in 2013, but ultimately decided the timing wasn’t right.
If courted by state Republican leaders the right way, these stars are gettable and could instantly change the dynamic of the election.
But if Republicans stick with their current crop of character actors, look out for yet another box office bomb.
John Phillips is a CNN political commentator and can be heard weekdays at 3 p.m. on “The Drive Home with Jillian Barberie and John Phillips” on KABC/AM 790.
