Capitol Weekly Podcast

The State of the California GOP, with Mike Madrid

Episode Summary

The California Republican Party Convention kicks off Friday in Anaheim with a luncheon featuring former president and current GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. While Trump is likely to get the lion's share of the attention, other prominent GOP candidates including Sen. Tim Scott, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy will also be on hand throughout the weekend. California boasts over 5 million registered Republicans - more than any state other than Florida - but that is half the number of registered Democrats. No Republican has held statewide office in over a decade, and Democrats hold supermajorities in both houses. The state hasn't supported a Republican for president since 1988. The convention comes at a time of deep stress within the state party, and the Dobbs decision and the events of January 6, 2021 have only exacerbated that stress. So, what to expect this weekend? We asked Mike Madrid, a longtime Republican strategist, former political director for the California Republican Party and acknowledged expert on Latino politics. After a lifetime as a GOP stalwart, he denounced the party’s embrace of Trumpism in 2016, and later cofounded The Lincoln Project. His efforts got him disavowed by the California GOP. Madrid joined us to talk about the state of the state Republican Party and about where the Republican Party is nationally.

Episode Notes

The California Republican Party Convention kicks off Friday in Anaheim with a luncheon featuring former president and current GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. While Trump is likely to get the lion's share of the attention, other prominent GOP candidates including Sen. Tim Scott, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy will also be on hand throughout the weekend.

California boasts over 5 million registered Republicans  - more than any state other than Florida - but that is half the number of registered Democrats. No Republican has held statewide office in over a decade, and Democrats hold supermajorities in both houses. The state hasn't supported a Republican for president since 1988.  The convention comes at a time of deep stress within the state party, and the Dobbs decision and the events of January 6, 2021 have only exacerbated that stress.

So, what to expect this weekend?  We asked Mike Madrid, a longtime Republican strategist, former political director for the California Republican Party and acknowledged expert on Latino politics. After a lifetime as a GOP stalwart, he denounced the party’s embrace of Trumpism in 2016, and later cofounded The Lincoln Project. His efforts got him disavowed by the California party that he had helped build.

Madrid joined us to talk about the state of the state Republican Party and about where the Republican Party is nationally, and helped us figure out who had the Worst Week in CA Politics.

Show Notes:

1:16 The state of the CA GOP

3:09 The party platform

5:39 "The pro-choice wing [of the GOP] has lost"

6:25 What to make of "secret" anti-Trump Republicans

9:43 Putting Mike Madrid in context

12:00 The Republican Voter's mindset

14:20 The CAGOP: 80% white in a state that is 35% white

15:42 But, Larry Elder

19:12 Does the CAGOP change?

23:48 "The Republican Party is a societal problem"

25:00 Where is the Latino vote?

31:18 What happens if Republicans get a prolonged drubbing at the polls?

36:25 What will we see at the CAGOP Convention?

40:45: WWCA

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