LOS ANGELES (AP) – John Cox rode an endorsement from President Donald Trump to a surprisingly strong second-place finish in the California gubernatorial primary. Now the really hard work begins for the Republican businessman from San Diego. Republicans haven’t won a statewide election in more than a decade and he faces long odds against Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who won Tuesday’s primary and will face Cox in November. The Trump endorsement helped Cox with Republicans but Newsom will use it to club him in a state where Trump is unpopular. Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco, has called Cox “a foot solider” in Trump’s “war on California.” Cox says he’ll focus on California’s high taxes and high cost of living under Democratic leadership.