Trump coming to GOP convention in Burlingame — so are Cruz, Kasich

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to an audience at a rally at the David Lawrence Convention Center on April 13, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to an audience at a rally at the David Lawrence Convention Center on April 13, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images) Photo: Jeff Swensen, Getty Images Photo: Jeff Swensen, Getty Images Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Trump coming to GOP convention in Burlingame — so are Cruz, Kasich 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

For about 24 hours this month, Burlingame will be the center of the political universe.

That was certified Wednesday when Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump announced he would speak at a lunchtime event at the California Republican Party convention April 29 in Burlingame.

Later that evening, Ohio Gov. John Kasich will address the convention. The next day, the other remaining GOP candidate in the race, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, will speak to the gathering of Republican elected officials and party activists.

The appearance of all three candidates signals how important the June 7 California primary will be to determining who will win the Republican nomination. The state’s bloc of 172 GOP convention delegates is the biggest single haul in the country, but only 13 of them will go to the candidate who collects the most votes statewide.

The rest go to the winner in each of the state’s 53 congressional districts — three delegates per district — ensuring that the candidates will spend time bouncing all over the state through primary election day. A candidate needs 1,237 delegates to win the nomination at the GOP national convention in Cleveland in July.

“California, like much of the rest of the nation, has struggled to regain its full economic success,” Trump said Wednesday in a statement. “A Trump administration is going to be a pro-jobs, pro-economy and pro-entrepreneur administration. I look forward to being with the great people of California and sharing my vision to make America great again.”

California Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte said, “We are very excited to have Donald Trump kicking off our weekend convention.”

“Mr. Trump’s success and experience as an American businessman is a result of his tenacity and unique ability to make any endeavor a triumph. He has built an empire from the ground up, and we are excited to hear his plan to make America great again, starting right here in California,” he said in a statement.

Joe Garofoli is the San Francisco Chronicle’s chief political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli