California Republicans were triumphant, still riding high from the results of the 2024 presidential election, at their spring organizing convention this weekend in Sacramento.

Although Democrat Kamala Harris won California with 58% of the vote, GOP delegates and officials saw statewide swings toward President Donald Trump as a sign of Democrats’ weakening influence and an opportunity to turn the state a lighter shade of blue.

Despite small anti-Trump protests at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center throughout the weekend, Republican optimism was on full display inside. Delegates in gold-sequined Trump jackets and hats with the president’s various slogans attended workshops and chose new state and regional party leaders.

California Republicans lost key congressional seats in November but celebrated gains in the Legislature, a trifecta in Washington and party unity, as Democrats struggled with direction and messaging after a significant defeat.

GOP delegates elevated vice chair Corrin Rankin as their new statewide leader. Rankin replaced Jessica Millan Patterson, who led the party for six years and earned praise for adding a million Republicans to California’s voter rolls.

“Change is coming to California,” Rankin said Sunday morning after her victory. “It’s time to end the Democrats’ one-party rule and make California great again.”

Elon Musk and his new Department of Government Efficiency, which has sought cuts to the federal workforce and foreign aid programs, were the subject of heavy praise all weekend. But Republicans did not address likely cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs or Medicare and the potential affects on those constituents.

The party adopted a resolution calling for a thorough and transparent audit of California state government expenditures, following what it described as the “DOGE model.” Other resolutions praised former President Donald Trump for ending federal diversity, equity and inclusion policies and urged California to take similar action. Delegates also approved a resolution in support of America’s working-class families.

Outgoing CAGOP Chairwoman on CA’s future

It was “a dark time for California Republicans” when Patterson took over as chair in 2019. The party had just lost half of California’s congressional seats in the nation’s “blue wave” midterms and GOP voter registrations fell below “No Party Preference” voters.

“For 15 years, our state (party) was on a downward trajectory,” she said. But “there are more Republicans in California now than there were during the Schwarzenegger administration.”

As chair, Patterson prioritized growing the party’s volunteer network, outreach to Latino and AAPI communities, and strategically deploying resources to Republican campaigns.

Patterson was the first Latina to lead the state GOP. She said she wasn’t worried that the president’s mission to cancel DEI programs or his strict immigration enforcement would hurt recent inroads with diverse voters in the state. But she acknowledged tariff wars could become a weak point for the agriculture-rich Central Valley.

She also weighed in on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new podcast, where the governor has taped discussions with conservative figures like Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk.

“I don’t know who is giving him advice but this is such a bad look,” she said. “The failed policies, and he has the audacity to drop three podcasts this week? I love it. He should continue.”

Patterson will join USC’s Center for the Political Future as a fellow later this month and said she’ll remain engaged with the party, “particularly focusing on the Hispanic community. I think this is our way back to sanity here in California.”

A lunchtime fireside-style chat between Patterson and Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales on Saturday underscored the party’s determination to continue making gains with Latino voters beyond 2024 as midterm elections are typically more difficult for the party in power.

Gonzales, who represents a district spanning more than 800 miles of the border with Mexico, said “overnight, things have gotten better” since Trump took office and moved to restrict illegal border crossings. To keep that momentum, he said working-class voters want results. “Don’t tell me the problem. Help me roll up your sleeves and fix them.”

Culture wars take center stage

The headline speaker Saturday night was former collegiate athlete and MAGA darling Riley Gaines, who made a name for herself in 2022 when she began to speak out against competing with transgender athlete Lia Thomas.

During her nearly 30-minute speech Saturday night, Gaines criticized gender ideology and called a recent effort by Wisconsin’s governor to replace gendered language in state law with gender neutral terms “incredibly regressive and utterly misogynistic.”

She said “allowing men into women’s sports” was “the sleeper issue of the election.”

“I believe, of course, that people turned out to the polls to embrace Donald Trump” and his agenda, she said. “But more so, I believe that people turned out to the polls to reject absurdity, and that is what the Democratic Party has become.”

The 24-year-old, who retired from swimming after college, is not new to the Sacramento area; she gave a speech about women’s rights and the threat of trans women athletes in sports at UC Davis in November 2023, and was met with protests outside. The Tennessee native has been a vocal supporter of President Trump, who signed a spate of anti-trans executive orders in his first days of office, including one that prevents trans girls and women from playing on women’s sports teams.

Gaines said she was “not shocked” when Newsom called issue of trans women in sports “deeply unfair” on his podcast, a stance that provoked anger from members of his own party.

“But it’s not unfair enough for him to actually do something about it,” she noted. “Clearly, I believe Governor Newsom is angling for a 2028 presidential bid.”

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