Can GOP Maintain Momentum In California Following National Convention?

Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, July 19, 2024…

• Former President Donald Trump put a cap on the Republican National Convention, with a 93 minute speech, accepting the party’s nomination. The Republican Party laid out its platform for the upcoming election, but will it resonate with voters in deeply blue California, particularly places like Orange County where there’s been widespread GOP support before?    
• The University of California Board of Regents voted Thursday to ban opinion statements not pertaining to scholarly work from website home pages. Statements on secondary pages will also have to include disclaimers that they do not represent the university as a whole.

Could Orange County Move Red In November?  

The Republican National Convention wrapped up Thursday night in Milwaukee. In his first major speech since a failed assassination attempt, former President Donald Trump accepted the Republican Party’s presidential nomination for the third time, speaking for more than 90 minutes.

The GOP platform features many familiar talking points – securing the border, cutting down on crime, the economy and election security. 

KQED’s politics team spoke with many members of the California delegation in Milwaukee who expressed optimism come November. One area of the state that is of particular interest is Orange County. The region was once a Republican stronghold but has turned more purple in recent years. There are a handful of Congressional races in the OC that could determine the majority in the House of Representatives. 

UC Moves To Limit Where Academic Departments Post Opinions Against Backdrop Of Gaza War

After seven months and three voting delays, the University of California Board of Regents has approved a pared-down policy outlining how academic departments should publish political and social opinions on university websites — largely embracing a set of standards that faculty themselves adopted in 2022. The journey to a consensus re-energized longstanding debates about academic freedom.

The new rules require that writings which depart from research, course information and other administrative announcements not be posted on the homepages of academic departments and other divisions. Instead, they can appear on other departmental web pages designated for opinions. 

While entirely a faculty matter, some pro-Palestinain students condemned previous versions of the regents’ proposed policy, which they interpreted as part of a crackdown on free speech that punished protests against Israel. Student anguish over the war in Gaza — and their anger with UC leadership for so far not calling for a ceasefire or divesting from weapons manufacturers and companies tied to Israel — helped to amplify the faculty’s alarm over the regents’ initial proposals.