Republican Party of California

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Republican Party of California
Basic facts
Location:	Sacramento, Calif.
Type:	Political party
Affiliation:	Republican
Top official:	Jessica Millan Patterson, Chairwoman
Website:	Official website

The Republican Party of California is the California political party affiliate of the national Republican Party. The group is headquartered in Sacramento, California.

Background

The California Republican Party dates to the 1850s, when many activists "believed that government should grant western lands – such as California – to settlers free of charge." The party's website notes that many of California's most notable statesmen were Republicans, including former U.S. Senator Leland Stanford, former U.S. Senator Hiram Johnson, former Chief Justice Earl Warren, and former President Ronald Reagan.

As of February 2019, the Democratic Party of California held a state government trifecta. Democrats controlled the governor's office and held majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.

Platform

The party's 2015 platform was composed of 24 main issues:

• Aging Californians
  "The California Republican Party is committed to promoting the opportunity for aging citizens to enjoy their retirement with the means they have accumulated throughout their working lives."
• Agriculture
  "Government should create a favorable policy environment that supports California’s farmers and ranchers, maximizing their ability to receive the reward for the risks they take year after year, while strengthening their ability to provide quality products at reasonable costs to consumers."
• Crime and Justice
  "The California Republican Party believes one of the most fundamental duties of government is to enhance public safety and welfare by crafting and enforcing laws in a fair, just, and efficient manner."
• The Economy and Jobs
  "We believe that people make better decisions than does government, and the free market embodies this principle. The government’s role is to ensure that markets are free and that there is genuine competition."
• Education
  "We believe that parents will make better choices than government in almost every case. Consequently, we support school choice programs, voucher and tax-credit scholarships, magnet schools, charter schools, homeschooling, educational savings accounts, and the right of parents to choose to have their child taught in academic English. We support the abolition of all regulatory barriers that prevent parents from exercising these options."
• Election Integrity
  "We support efforts to ensure that all registered citizens may easily vote, including the elderly, the handicapped and military personnel. Every time a fraudulent vote is cast, it disenfranchises another voter who casts a legitimate vote. We therefore support requiring photo identification for voting in person, robust signature verification for voting by mail, and proof of citizenship for voter registration."
• The Environment
  "We believe California industry should lead the world in developing and manufacturing safe, renewable and sustainable energy. We encourage the development of these new technologies and systems for use in the domestic market, as well as for export. We believe that entrepreneurs – using technology, innovation and incentives – are more likely to solve environmental problems than bureaucrats. We support the creation of tax credits for homeowners and builders who incorporate alternative energy systems into their homes."
• Equal Opportunity
  ". We oppose quotas, special rights, set asides, or guaranteed equality of results. We support laws prohibiting discrimination in employment and housing based on race, ethnicity, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or religion."
• Ethics by Government Officials
  "Ethics in service to one’s fellow citizens goes beyond the letter of the law. The California Republican Party calls on its elected and appointed officials always to serve others, always to demonstrate the highest standards of morality and honesty, and never to use their offices for personal gain. Republican officeholders should give their utmost effort to improve our society and to inspire others to serve."
• Family
  "We support the two-parent family as the best environment for raising children, and therefore believe that it is important to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman."
• Federalism
  "We believe that local or state governments should resolve political matters unless the United States Constitution expressly reserves such matters for the federal government."
• Government Transparency
  "We support an open and transparent government that is accessible to all people that it represents. Federal, state and local government bodies should make available all legislative, budget & spending documents in an easily searchable online database."
• Healthcare
  "We oppose government-mandated health care plans that restrict freedom of choice, and we oppose the bureaucratic restrictions of single-payer plans. We support restructuring Medicaid to restrict elective, medically-unnecessary surgeries while increasing the compensation to doctors and hospitals for necessary surgeries and other treatments."
• Immigration
  "To ensure our immigration laws are adhered to, we support devoting more resources to border control, and increasing penalties for overstaying visas. We will support implementing a nationwide e-verify employment system once the necessary visa and guest worker programs are in place."
• The Litigation Crisis
  "Justice is an American virtue. To make justice available to every person, we support legal innovations such as arbitration, mediation, and reasonable limitations on unnecessary discovery and motion practice."
• National Defense
  "The first duty of government is to provide for the common defense. The California Republican Party asserts that it is imperative that we retain our military superiority in order to deter any potential adversary. Yet, we affirm that our military forces exist to deter our enemies and not to initiate war."
• Our Historic and Ongoing Support for Proposition 13
  "We acknowledge that Proposition 13 has saved residential and commercial property owners hundreds of billions of dollars since it was approved. It provides a uniform one percent property tax rate that provides stability for homeowners and small business owners alike."
• Private Property Rights
  "We stand for the principle that condemnation and government restriction on private property must only occur for public use."
• Religious Freedom
  "The California Republican Party respects each person’s individual conscience and is a strong proponent of religious liberty for all. We support the California Constitution’s guarantee of the free exercise and enjoyment of religion without discrimination or preference."
• The Right to Bear Arms
  "We support an individual’s right to use deadly force to protect lives and property. We also propose amending California’s constitution to reflect all of these rights. Finally, we call for the elimination of waiting periods to purchase firearms and instead support complete implementation of instant background checks."
• The Right to Life
  "The California Republican Party is the party that protects innocent life because we believe life begins at conception and ends at natural death."
• Taxes and Government Spending
  "The California Republican Party is the party of balanced budgets, limited government, and fiscal responsibility."
• Veterans Affairs
  "The California Republican Party salutes all California veterans and we commit to continued support for them through efforts such as, but not limited to, transition assistance, jobs programs, housing assistance, retirement benefits and health care. We support fair efforts to privatize the operations of the Veteran's Administration in order to increase efficiencies and quality of care."
• Water
  "The California Republican Party is committed to supporting the construction of new, above-ground water storage facilities and desalinization plants as critical components in the plan tomeet California’s long-term water needs."

Rules and bylaws

Candidate ballot access
Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

See also: Rules of the California Republican Party

The state party is governed by a set of rules and bylaws. Typically, these give structure to the different levels of organization—local, county, and state committees—and establish protocol for electing committee members. The bylaws also typically give details on the party's process for nominating and sending delegates to the national party convention during presidential elections. The following is a selection of the California Republican Party's rules. This selection focuses on the structure and governance of the party:

• The state party is organized as an executive committee, which "exercises general direction over the statewide election campaigns for Republican nominees for state elective offices."
• In presidential election years, presidential electors are a combination of elected officials, party officials and electors chosen by the chair of the state committee.

Convention

The 2016 state convention for the California Republican Party, when the party selected its delegates for the Republican National Convention, took place on April 29, 2016.

National convention delegate allocation, 2016

See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

Hover over the terms below to display definitions.

Ballot access laws

Primary election

Caucus

Delegate

A political party formally nominates its presidential candidate at a national nominating convention. At this convention, state delegates select the party's nominee. Prior to the nominating convention, the states conduct presidential preference primaries or caucuses. Generally speaking, only state-recognized parties — such as the Democratic Party and the Republican Party — conduct primaries and caucuses. These elections measure voter preference for the various candidates and help determine which delegates will be sent to the national nominating convention.

The Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee, the governing bodies of the nation's two major parties, establish their own guidelines for the presidential nomination process. State-level affiliates of the parties also have some say in determining rules and provisions in their own states. Individuals interested in learning more about the nomination process should contact the political parties themselves for full details.

California had 172 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 159 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's 53 congressional districts). California's district delegates were allocated on a winner-take-all basis; the plurality winner in a given congressional district won all of that district's delegates.

Of the remaining 13 delegates, 10 served at large. California's at-large delegates were allocated on a winner-take-all basis; the plurality winner of the statewide primary vote received all of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention. The RNC delegates were required to pledge their support to the winner of the state's primary.

Leadership

As of February 2019, the executive director of the California Republican Party was Cynthia Bryant.

The following individuals held leadership positions with the California Republican Party as of February 2019:

• Jessica Millan Patterson, Chairwoman
• Harmeet Dhillon, National committeewoman
• Shawn Steel, National committeeman

State political party revenue

See also: State political party revenue and State political party revenue per capita

The Democratic Party and the Republican Party maintain state affiliates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and select U.S. territories. The following maps display total state political party revenue per capita for the Democratic and Republican state party affiliates from 2011 to 2016. The blue map displays Democratic state parties and the red map displays Republican state parties. Click on a state below to view the state party's revenue per capita totals:

Total Democratic and Republican state political party revenue per capita in the United States, 2011-2016

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'California Republican Party'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Republican Party of California - Google News

See also

• Republican Party
• California

External links

• California Republican Party Website
• California Republican Party on Facebook
• California Republican Party on Twitter