A national political wave is forming against Democrats, and California’s one-party rule may end in 2022 if Republicans can manage to unite behind key candidates and win some statewide seats.
The Republican Party in California has not won a statewide election since 2006 — 16 years ago. But that could change this November if Republicans throughout the state unite behind a single candidate in each race.
With a national electoral environment of as much as R+13, Republicans could be poised for a statewide comeback — which the LA Times even acknowledged, saying “The most contentious and closely watched California election in 2022 is likely to be the race for attorney general.” However, the GOP needs to clear a hurdle in the June primaries first.
California elections are run by a “top two” primary system, in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the November general elections. This means that, theoretically, Republicans could get shut out of the November ballot and leave two Democrats for voters to choose from. This fate is likely if too many Republicans split the vote.
This weekend, the California Republican Party met in Anaheim to endorse their preferred slate of candidates for party members to rally behind and prevent this shut-out scenario.
The candidates are as follows:
- Governor: Brian Dahle
- Lieutenant Governor: Angela Underwood Jacobs
- Controller: Lanhee Chen
- Attorney General: Nathan Hochman
- State Superintendent of Public Instruction: Lance Christiansen
- U.S. Senate: Mark Meuser
The party’s convention stressed unity as a key theme, and conservative leaders throughout the state have begun rallying support for the slate in this spirit.
Carl DeMaio, chairman of Reform California, says backing these candidates is essential to ensuring that at least one Republican candidate makes the runoff in each statewide race in 2022.
“Democrats like Joe Biden and their policies are proving themselves more unpopular everyday — with rising crime, spiking inflation, rampant homelessness, and more — and it will come back to bite them in November with a Red wave in the 2022 midterm elections,” said DeMaio.
“But that Red wave won’t make it out to California if we don’t paddle and do the work, and that work means getting a Republican on the ballot in November to stand a chance,” he continued.
DeMaio pointed to past elections in California as an example, such as the 2018 U.S. Senate race which pitted two Democrats against each other in November: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and California State Senate President pro tempore Kevin de León.
“It is incredibly important for us to unite behind these Republican candidates so that we don’t split the vote and fail to make the top-two,” said DeMaio. “We cannot get shut out if we want a chance to see real change in California,” he explained.
In an attempt to unite voters behind one candidate in each race so voters have a real competitive choice in the November runoffs, Reform California will soon release their comprehensive voter guide.
In addition, Reform California is raising funds to support the entire slate of statewide candidates. They are asking Californians to support their efforts and join the campaign today to restore balance in the state’s politics.
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