The Republican party is going to have to push a very heavy rock up the mountain of voter progress. In spite of using voter intimidation, gerrymandering, and out-and-out cheating, the party continues to dwindle in size. It appears the reason is Donald Trump, and here is how it happened.
Orange County was the stronghold of President Ronald Reagan. Unfortunately for the GOP, the country has officially moved from neon red to brilliant blue. There were 547,458 registered Democrats and 547,369 Republicans. At the same time, there were 440,770 non-affiliated voters. That was nearly a third of the voters, 27.4 percent.
Chair of the Orange County Young Democrats Katerina Ioannides, which held the voter registration for young voters. It was one of a group of organizations committed to increasing the party registration, according to The Los Angeles Times:
‘The Republican Party’s platform no longer resonates in a rapidly diversifying, increasingly college-educated Orange County. Trump’s toxic rhetoric and exclusionary policies alienate women, millennials, suburban voters, immigrants and people of color — critical components of the electorate in Orange County. The Republican Party’s platform no longer resonates in a rapidly diversifying, increasingly college-educated Orange County.’
A resident of Seal Beach said:
‘We have a tremendous outflow of people leaving California. We’ve been an out-migration state for 20 years, and that’s particularly acute in the suburbs. There is an opportunity as Democrats get more aggressive in Sacramento and alienate more people.’
Political analyst and senior editor at Inside Elections Stu Rothenberg said this was:
‘(An) upscale suburbs with college-educated voters who have more suburban and cosmopolitan concerns. They see the Republican Party as intolerant old white men.’
Former GOP strategist Reed Galen reflected on these Republicans: President George W. Bush, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and presidential candidate Sen. John McCain. He said:
‘It was never a question of whether or not you would win Orange County. The idea that you could lose it wasn’t even on the books.’
Representative Katie Porter (D-CA) won in her contest with Republican Representative Mimi Walters. She said:
‘We owe this to the local college student who knocked on doors, the single mom who phone-banked, and the retired senior who volunteered to register voters; because of all of their hard work we now have more voices from all backgrounds included in our democratic process than ever before.’
She continued saying “we must keep the pressure up:”
‘We welcome this news as we continue to build on the progress of last year. We must keep the pressure up as we fight to solidify these gains in 2020 and keep Orange County blue.’
Former Republican state assemblyman Matthew Harper lost to a Democrat by five points in 2018. He said:
‘It has been a cycle. It has been a pendulum. The Republican Party has always been a center-right party, and that’s the natural inclination of Orange County voters.’
Executive director of the Orange County Republican Party Randall Avila said the Democrats have aggressively registered voters:
‘It just means we need to step up our game; we need to rise to the occasion and competitiveness of the county now.’
Chair of the Orange County Democratic Party Ada Briceño said “it can happen anywhere:”
‘If it can happen in Orange County, it can happen anywhere. This is a lesson not to dismiss historically Republican-dominated areas, but to dig in deeper and engage with people, especially those who have never been engaged in our political process.’
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
