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Skelton: California GOP faces dire numbers

Jim Brulte, the new leader of the California Republican Party, places a campaign sticker on GOP Rep. Tom McClintock, at the California Republican Party convention on Saturday.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)
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By any numerical measurement, the California Republican Party has hit hard times. Fewer than one out of three registered voters call themselves Republicans, and the party doesn’t control a single statewide elected office.

In Monday’s column, George Skelton points out some other statistics show the party sliding toward oblivion.

The California GOP is 82% white in a state expecting to have a Latino majority next year, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. When it comes to same-sex marriage, gun control and climate change, Republicans are far to the right of the state’s population, Skelton says.

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“We’ve got to figure out our highest priorities — such as the economy and jobs, public safety, efficient government, quality education — and focus on those,” said Senate Republican leader Bob Huff of Diamond Bar. “Talking about other things turns people off.”

Politics is often viewed as cyclical -- parties gain and lose power as elections come and go. But Skelton says it’s becoming more and more difficult to reverse Republicans’ fortunes in California.

All of Skelton’s columns are here.

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