More than 33,000 registered voters have left the California Republican Party since the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill, underscoring the diminishing sway of the GOP in the Golden State.
Statistics from the California secretary of state’s office show the exodus from the California GOP was ongoing but appears to have accelerated after the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. Just over a thousand voters left the GOP on Jan. 5, while 3,243 left on Jan. 7.
The secretary of state’s data showed 33,448 registered Republicans in total left the party from Jan. 6-28. Meanwhile, the state Democratic Party shed just 19,420 voters from Jan. 6-Feb. 1, bolstering its already yawning advantage over the GOP.
The shift underscores the Republican Party’s dwindling strength in California, which has emerged as among the bluest states in the country.
Republicans still had a foothold in the state in the 2000s, with several members of the GOP in the congressional delegation and Arnold Schwarzenegger serving two terms as governor from 2003-2011.
However, the GOP’s power in the state has since diminished, with Democrats now holding the governor’s mansion and supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature.
Republicans were able to make some gains in 2020 House races, winning back a handful of congressional seats in Orange County that they’d lost in 2018. However, the fact that Orange County, the bedrock of the Reagan conservatism that once fueled the party, is even competitive highlights how far the GOP has slipped in the state.
The California Republican Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
Source Article from https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/538249-over-33000-registered-voters-leave-gop-in-california
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