The Republican Party of San Diego County’s central committee — the body which makes endorsements in local races on the GOP’s behalf — is scheduled to meet tonight.
It will be the panel’s first meeting since Mayor Jerry Sanders announced his support for same-sex marriage. The announcement drew speculation that the party, whose activists were angered by his reversal on the issue, might pull its early endorsement of Sanders in next year’s mayoral race.
If the endorsement were revoked, Sanders’ campaign could lose out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in support for his campaign.
But after all of the chatter and anticipation over the party’s decision, the issue is not on the agenda for tonight’s meeting, panel members said. Further, many of those close to the party said they haven’t seen an aggressive effort to convince committee members to break from their support of Sanders.
“We haven’t seen that sophisticated opposition,” said one Central Committee member who wished to remain anonymous.
Sanders spokesman said the mayor will be in attendance at tonight’s meeting.
The meeting comes almost two weeks after Sanders met privately with a select group of members where the issue was discussed.