GOP numbers at California Capitol at their lowest levels in a century
SACRAMENTO — It's a Republican Party disappearing act inside the California State Capitol.
The newly certified election results show Republicans lost more seats and are down to their lowest levels in a century. Even Republican lawmakers are asking: why?
"I think one of the biggest hurdles we have is we have a very unbalanced legislature," said state Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh.
She's one of the few remaining Republicans in the Senate and is also the first Latina Republican senator ever in California history.
"I think I bring a different perspective, a different voice to the Republican Party," she said.
Of the 40 state senators, there are only eight Republicans. Of the 80 state assemblymembers, there are only 18 Republicans.
The numbers are so low that you have to go deep into the state archives to find a time when Republicans made up such a small portion of elected state leaders.
Alex Vassar is a spokesperson for the state library who found the political party.
"It's gone back to the 1870s and 1880s to find numbers like that where the Republican representation in the state Legislature was that low," he said.
Vassar said history shows there is a transition in political party registration historically. The Republican Party dominated California in the 1920s.
"When railroads were fighting for control of state government and the progressives were fighting against that," he said.
Now, in the year 2022, the state Republican Party is in peril.
"I think we haven't had very good messengers," Vassar said.
Seeking a message that resonates with more people.
Counties across the state certified their election results Friday. The state is set to certify them next week.
