After historic losses, California GOP faces a fight over its future

Résumé détaillé

In the aftermath of widespread Republican midterm losses, California GOP Chair Corrin Rankin announced Wednesday that she would not seek reelection next year.

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In the aftermath of widespread Republican losses in the midterm election, California GOP Chair Corrin Rankin announced Wednesday night that she would not seek reelection next year.

“The recent election results have reinforced something I have said consistently throughout my chairmanship,” she said in a statement. “We must move beyond competing organizations and disconnected efforts toward a unified, coordinated strategy that puts winning ahead of everything else.”

The party held eight seats in California’s 52-member congressional delegation and is projected to lose at least half. In the state legislature, the GOP is projected to lose 8 of their 20 seats in the Assembly and as many as three of their 10 seats in the Senate.

Such losses would result in the fewest Republicans in both state bodies since the 1875-76 session, according to Alex Vassar, communications manager at the California State Library.

Rankin, the former statewide president of the California Bail Agents Assn., was elected chair in March 2025. Her decision to not run for reelection comes amid a challenging moment for Republicans in California and nationwide with many questioning the party’s direction in the wake of election losses this month.

The state GOP has been spiraling in voter registration and financial support for years. The party that launched the careers of Presidents Reagan and Nixon last elected GOP candidates to statewide office two decades ago. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 20 points, according to the secretary of state’s office as of Oct. 19.

State Assemblyman Carl DeMaio (R-Valley Center) questioned Rankin’s competence for the leadership role, saying in an interview with The Times that the chairwoman “doesn’t know how to manage a taco stand.”

DeMaio also took aim at the state party, saying that it will take more than a new chair to fix the GOP.

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