Watching CA
A slow-moving blue wave is on the verge of washing away the House Republicans’ California delegation — a once-strong faction of the GOP that rivaled the powerful Texas delegation.
Democrats have flipped four GOP seats in the Golden State thus far, while two other races in red districts are still too close to call.
If those both break in Democrats favor, California Republicans will see their ranks chopped nearly in half.
The battle for California is seen as a proxy war between Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), both of whom are poised to lead their respective parties in the House next year.
The blue state has long been colored by red streaks in GOP strongholds like the affluent Orange County, but suburbs in the state — and all over the country — revolted against the party in the first midterm since President Trump’s election.
“California has been slipping away from us for a long, long time,” Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who chaired the House GOP’s campaign arm after Democrats won back the House in 2006, told The Hill. “It’s just a tough year.”
Rep. Jeff Denham (R) became the latest Republican to lose his seat Tuesday night, when The Associated Press declared Democrat Josh Harder as the victor in the contest to represent Denham’s Central Valley district.
If he had returned to Congress, Denham, a centrist who tried to force action on immigration earlier this year, was planning on seeking the top spot on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The loss of Denham’s seat comes in addition to California Republicans Steve Knight and Dana Rohrabacher both being ousted last week. A Democrat also won the open seat being vacated by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).
And Democratic congressional candidate Katie Porter recently pulled ahead in her battle against Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Calif.), while GOP candidate Young Kim is barely leading in the race to replace retiring Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.).
Even Rep. David Valadao’s (R-Calif.) race has unexpectedly tightened in recent days, though he is still 2,000 votes ahead.
If the GOP loses both Walters's and Royce’s seats, the California delegation would go from 14 Republicans and 39 Democrats to just 8 Republicans and 45 Democrats.
Race results still trickled in as the GOP held its leadership elections Wednesday, where McCarthy easily won his bid to become minority leader.
But the victory comes at a grim time for the Bakersfield native, who will be losing a significant chunk of his California allies.
The GOP losses, meanwhile, will hand Pelosi an even larger majority — and potentially give her more loyal followers — as she seeks to secure the Speaker’s gavel, though not every incoming California Democrat has stated their position on Pelosi’s bid.
Some conservatives complained that Republicans decided to hold leadership elections before they even knew the results of all the races yet.
“This is happening too quickly,” said Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, before the leadership elections. “This to me seems rushed. We are proceeding without complete information.”
“That’s unfortunate,” he added. “I think it’s really hard to make an informed decision.”
Republican Party officials have long been aware of their electoral challenges in the Golden State, even opening up a field office in Southern California earlier this year to combat against the potential blue wave. The GOP was defending roughly a dozen vulnerable seats in the state alone.
McCarthy, meanwhile, had barnstormed every corner of the country, including his home state, where he campaigned and raised millions of dollars for current and future GOP colleagues — efforts that he highlighted this week as he ran for the top GOP slot.
“If anything, several of those members that are coming back probably owe their seats to Kevin McCarthy,” Cole said.
More:
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/416747-blue-wave-crashes-on-california-gop-delegation