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Jessica Millan Patterson: California Republicans’ comeback continues

December 13, 2024

Ballot counting isn’t a sprint in California; it’s a month-long marathon. Finally, after weeks of ballot curing and counting, the results are in, and California Republicans have much to be excited about. Six years ago, the Republican Party was the third largest political party in California, behind Democrats and No Party Preference. Today, voters increasingly show that they are with Republicans in support of commonsense solutions to California’s many problems.

President Donald Trump’s victory was not only a national mandate for his conservative agenda, but he moved the needle to the right even in deep-blue California. When all votes were counted, President Trump performed better in 78 percent of California counties than he did in 2020. At the same time, his opponent, California Democrat Kamala Harris, underperformed Joe Biden’s 2020 results in 57 of 58 counties.

Not only that, but President Trump flipped 10 counties entirely over Harris. Fresno, Merced, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties voted this year for a Republican presidential nominee for the first time since 2004. Imperial County backed a Republican for the first time since 1988.

Much has been made at the national level about President Trump’s success with Latino voters in the election. California Latinos make up around 40 percent of the state’s population, and early data suggests this critical demographic likely helped President Trump in California too. Among the counties that flipped to red, Imperial, Merced and Riverside counties have majority-Latino populations.

At the state level, California Republicans found huge success. Not only did Republicans protect every incumbent in the state legislature, but we also picked up three seats – two in the Assembly and one in the Senate. This is the first time California Republicans picked up seats in both chambers during a presidential election since 1980, the same year Americans sent a California Republican to the White House. And it happened in districts where Democrats have voter registration advantages, including double-digit advantages in both Assembly pickups.

The party’s nine new legislative members also reflect the diversity of the Golden State. A majority of the new members are women, and two thirds are from either Hispanic or AAPI backgrounds. They also include the two youngest members of the California legislature from either party.

California Republicans’ victories continued with ballot initiatives – an area where the party’s track record has only gotten better in recent years. In 2020, voters sided with the California Republican Party on seven of the 11 ballot initiatives in which we took a position. In 2022, voters were with the CAGOP on two thirds of the ballot initiatives. This year, voters were with the CAGOP on eight out of nine ballot initiatives in which we took a position, or an astounding 89 percent. Voters are saying loudly and clearly that when they get a direct say on different policies, they are with Republicans instead of Democrats.

Much of this year’s success would not have been possible without the hard work of the California Republican Party, our candidates, our partner committees and our outstanding volunteers. Together, we prioritized voter registration across the state, adding more than 928,000 new Republicans to the voter rolls since 2019. We recruited nearly 95,000 volunteers who helped us contact voters and get out the vote for the Republican ticket, including harvesting nearly 35,000 ballots.

After the election, we cured more than 3,500 ballots across our targeted districts to help voters whose ballots had been rejected. We built the largest Republican election integrity operation in state history made up of staff, volunteers and attorneys who monitored the election count to ensure it was safe and secure. The party’s efforts were sophisticated and robust, and we have many victories today to show for it.

Unfortunately, the election was not without its heartbreaking losses. Despite reelecting some of the most heavily targeted congressional Republicans in the entire country, we lost three seats. These were never going to be easy to defend, with massive sums of money being poured in by Democrats, and voter registration advantages that, though showing improvement for Republicans, still heavily favored Democrats. The three seats lost have shifted between Republican and Democrat control in recent election cycles, and while we came up short this year, they remain winnable for Republicans with hard work and strong candidates in the years ahead.

The 2024 election should not only serve as a wake-up call for national Democrats whose radical agenda was soundly rejected by voters, but for California Democrats specifically. Voters rejected their ideas at the ballot box. Voters chipped away at Democrats’ supermajorities in the state legislature. And voters across the country kept a far-left California Democrat out of the White House. Republicans’ California comeback continues, and Democrats should be on notice.

Jessica Millan Patterson is chairwoman of the California Republican Party.

Orange County Register

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Jessica Millan Patterson: California Republicans’ comeback continues

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