The California Republican Party will meet this weekend for its annual convention in San Diego. On the surface, the party is not in good shape.
Democrats hold all statewide offices. Pundits have — until recently — predicted that the elections for governor and for U.S. Senate would have all-Democrat finals. Former Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner reportedly leads the race for his old job, yet this time he is not running as a Republican, but rather as an independent.
In addition, Democrats are targeting half of California’s 14 Republican-held congressional seats in the midterm elections. These are districts where Hillary Clinton won a majority of the vote in 2016. Some of the Republican incumbents decided to retire rather than face tough fights. And the Democrats have the momentum of the so-called “Resistance” behind them, boosted by big donors and buoyed by favorable coverage in the mainstream media.
But Republicans are also seeing a surge.
The “#metoo” movement has forced several Democratic state legislators to resign due to accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior, ending the party supermajority in the State Assembly.
Moreover, the 12-cent gas tax increase Democrats passed last year has led to a backlash. One Democrat State Senator who voted for it faces a recall election, and Republicans are putting a repeal referendum on the ballot.
Even more significantly, the growing revolt against the state’s “sanctuary” laws has energized conservatives over the past two months.
In March, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions traveled to the state as the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit challenging three of the state’s new laws defying federal immigration authorities. That inspired over a dozen local governments, including three counties, to declare their support for the lawsuit and defiance of the state.
As a result, individual Republican candidates are seeing a boost in their poll numbers.
Republican businessman John Cox and Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) are now in a close race with former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for second place in the race for governor, behind frontrunner Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. Republican James Bradley is rising in the Senate race and has a chance of qualifying for the November ballot.
If any Republican can qualify for the general election in a statewide race — still a tough task, given that Villaraigosa has millions of dollars still to spend in the governor’s race, and billionaire Tom Steyer is backing State Sen. Kevin de Léon (D-Los Angeles) in the Senate race — that will boost Republican turnout in November.
That, in turn, will help the party minimize its losses. If the locals can hold enough seats, the national GOP may retain the U.S. House.
There are even a few pickup opportunities. One such is Kimberlin Brown Pelzer, a Hollywood actress running in the 36th congressional district (D+2) against Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA), a clone of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (who insists she will be Speaker of the House if Democrats win in November).
In other races, the sheer number of Democrats running in the June 5th primary could transform winnable seats into all-Republican finals.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), who has done as much as anyone to bring the sanctuary state issue to the fore — including offering to pay the legal costs for the city of Fountain Valley to join the federal government’s lawsuit against the state — was once consideredone of the five most vulnerable incumbents in the House. But the veteran conservative, known for his iconoclastic views on relations with Russia and legal marijuana, is feeling confident.
One reason is that so many Democrats entered the race against Rohrabacher in the 48th congressional district that they risk splitting the vote between them. Even with a well-known fellow Republican, former Assemblyman Scott Baugh, entering the race, Rohrabacher is looking stronger than ever.
There is even a chance that Rohrabacher and Baugh shut Democrats out of the general election. Democrats are now pressuring each other to quit the race.
The task for California Republicans will be to put differences aside — especially the old Trump vs. Never Trump fight — and unite for the sake of the party and the nation. Democrats need 23 seats nationwide to flip the House, bringing Pelosi to power and certain impeachment for President Trump.
If California Republicans can hold the line, they can, arguably, save the nation. The state party may have seen better days, but never a more important election.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named to Forward’s 50 “most influential” Jews in 2017. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
This article was originally published by Breitbart.com/California
Hope springs eternal but I just looked at the “Voter Information Guide” that came in the mail yesterday. On the back cover is an application for Vote-by-Mail. It asks for your Name and Address, and that is all. Not ONE question about your proof of citizenship. And I’m sure it will be in both English and Spanish. Just keep voting for democrats you fools!
Do you want to do something meaningful about voter fraud? Mark Meuser for Secretary of State is THE candidate. A very important race. We’re lucky he’s running. Find out more:
http://www.markmeuser.com/
The California voters are so mired in the CPUSA Agenda that they will NEVER save a once great place to work and live in. There are not enough common sense conservatives in the State to pull it off. The worst thing is what works in California spreads like the disease it is throughout the rest of the Country!
California resident and the times they are a changing…Democrates are being held responsible for the Car and gas taxes Brown and his thugs just passed..NO Californians want this higher tax and this will drive turnout in Nov, all voting against DEMWITS..Vote in Nov people and drive these scumbag DEMWITS out of office…
You people who are pessimistic about Repubs taking over are tabloid readers and like gossip–What you THINK about is what you Bring about–there will be change or there will be blood!
Message to Reeps. 1.) Sanctuary State. 2.) Illegal Aliens as Elected Officials. (Read Ca Oath of Office ) 3.) Fuel Tax & DMV crazy price increases 4.) Electric utility rates via Massive increases due to mandated renewable fuel cost 5.)Pension obligations the taxpayers WILL pay 6.) Regulations killing business. 7.) Ca folks LEAVING and taking money with them. 9.) Lousy School Performance 10.) Cite Gov Brown – “I will NOT raise taxes w/o a vote of the people.” (LIAR!) Reread #10. Seems a recent POTUS stated health care costs will go down. PERIOD! Another lying Democrat……. Any questions?
he Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association PAC
has endorsed these candidates
for the June 5, 2018, Primary Election
Google it up and get vocal beyond here!
If the fate of America depends on the CA Rep Party, we doomed.
The California Republican Party is the vehicle of a minority ethnic group. It would be better to shut it down and take advantage of the unbridgeable tensions in the Democratic Party between Hollywood and Silicon Valley on the one hand and East LA and the Central Valley on the other. Remember Proposition 8, which won on the votes of Latinos and blacks, while losing the white vote.
The current party members seem to be nothing more than a social club.
The President has shown how using Twitter and other alternative types of media can spread the word over the old media who have a stranglehold in most of CA.
We don’t lack a message, we lack a communications strategy. Most CA have no idea why things are the way they are here and have no understanding that things can change for the better. Worse, lies about what a Republican is are constantly being reinforced without a rebuttal of truth.
Until young, social media savvy, Republicans take control, the message of hope and a better California will not be heard.
All this doom and gloom before an election doesn’t serve the purpose intended. Instead of encouraging people to get out and vote, it does the opposite. I’m NOT buying this crap. We are not going to lose our country.
A huge issue is voter fraud, reports of Republican ballots being destroyed, the registering of illegal aliens. How do we know if our ballots have been counted? How do we prevent illegal aliens from voting?
Check out Mark Meuser, candidate for California Secty of State, and once you do you’ll rush to vote for the guy, and I’m not kidding
http://www.markmeuser.com/
http://www.electionintegrityproject.com/
There are too many naive voters in the state of California that believe a communist government would create an instant utopia, these people along with the illegal immigrants that vote have created a difficult wall to penetrate.
I would suggest the CA Republican party can hardly save itself, let alone have any meaningful effect on the USA. We do not have any crazy left wing people in our party so we can’t develop any relationships with teeming numbers of unionists and lemmings.