What does the future hold for the California Democratic Party?

During the elections Democrats lost not only the presidential race and control of the U S Senate but here in California the party also gave up three seats in the state legislature Specific viewed the losses as a moment of reckoning for the Democratic Party Related Articles Rep Ro Khanna local labor unions denounce federal layoffs Letters State s leaders are the cause of our high cost of living Cottle How the ravages of age are ravaging the Democratic Party California lawmakers halt hundreds of bills with new spending as deficits loom Trump targeted Democrats over questionable online fundraising His campaign has similar issues Democratic leaders in contemporary interviews and while speaking to large crowds of activists and members of their party gathered in Anaheim this weekend agree there ought to be chosen self-introspection and that there is work to do to win over more voters At the same time others who attended this year s California Democratic Party Convention dismissed any notion that the future of the Democratic Party is bleak Referencing this year s convention theme of California Strong California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks commented the message the party hopes to convey is that California Democrats are California Strong that we are operating from a position of strength as the fourth-largest economic system in the world This party is fighting for Californians he continued We have an outsized obligation to do that work here in the state that has a huge impact on the nation Shifts in voter registration No doubt California remains a solidly blue state overall with Democrats retaining a -point voter registration advantage over Republicans as barrels closer Minnesota Gov Tim Walz speaks at the California Democratic Party s State Convention at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim Calif on Saturday May AP Photo Damian Dovarganes People take pictures of Sen Cory Booker D-N J as he speaks at the California Democratic Party s State Convention at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim Calif on Saturday May AP Photo Damian Dovarganes Rusty Hicks the Chair of the California Democratic Party CADEM speaks at the California Democratic Party s State Convention at the Anaheim Convention Canter in Anaheim Calif on Saturday May AP Photo Damian Dovarganes Minnesota Gov Tim Walz speaks at the California Democratic Party s State Convention at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim Calif on Saturday May AP Photo Damian Dovarganes Sen Cory Booker D-N J speaks at the California Democratic Party s State Convention at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim Calif on Saturday May AP Photo Damian Dovarganes Show Caption of Minnesota Gov Tim Walz speaks at the California Democratic Party s State Convention at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim Calif on Saturday May AP Photo Damian Dovarganes Expand But fewer Californians are registered as Democrats in the modern day than four years ago Republicans on the other hand have picked up more voters In February shortly after Democrat Joe Biden won the presidential electoral process Democrats accounted for of registered voters in California according to the California secretary of state As of this February they represent of registered voters By comparison Republicans made up of the state s registered voters in February They re now at Similar trends have been observed locally In Los Angeles Orange Riverside and San Bernardino counties the number of registered Democrats during this same time period declined by to while the percentage of registered Republicans increased between and Hicks acknowledged that the state legislature which is controlled by Democrats has more work ahead to address affordability issues related to housing and the price of gas and food that are top of mind for plenty of Californians That explained he shrugged off the fact that Republicans managed to flip three legislative seats during November s poll noting that Democrats continue to enjoy a supermajority in Sacramento During the general poll Republicans flipped two seats in the Assembly and one in the Senate All three of those seats represent communities in Southern California including an Orange County Senate seat now held by Republican state Sen Steven Choi of Irvine In the Assembly Republican Jeff Gonzalez now represents the th District which includes parts of Imperial Riverside and San Bernardino counties Similarly Republican Leticia Castillo was elected to represent the th District which takes in parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties Despite those GOP gains Democrats continue to claim of the Assembly seats and of the Senate seats California Republicans have run around and commented Oh we re taking over California Winning two seats and having members in the Assembly I don t think there s anything to necessarily be proud of You got a long way to go Hicks noted Corrin Rankin chair of the California Republican Party announced in response that Republicans are just getting started Flipping three seats was just the beginning Rankin noted in a comment The voting made one thing clear Voters are done with Democrat mismanagement Californians are ready for change and Republicans are ready to lead Prioritizing midterm elections Given that the party already has a supermajority in the state legislature Hicks indicated that the California Democratic Party s priority and focus in will be the congressional midterm elections He also revealed that the party plans to engage with young voters by going to high school and college campuses Democrats are hoping to wrest back control of at least one of the houses in Congress to thwart Republicans attempts to advance President Donald Trump s agenda they commented this weekend Rep Dave Min D-Irvine commented Democrats should focus on the financial sector in order to boost backing for the party We need to think about how we talk about economics with a real plan to help people who are struggling Min disclosed in an interview In addition Min the son of Korean immigrants commented Democrats cannot abandon core values like diversity and inclusiveness He wasn t so concerned that the number of registered Democrats in the state has declined while the GOP has gained members He subjects that a year from now the Republican Party will have lost members due to he reported voter dissatisfaction with actions by the Trump administration including cuts to Medicaid mass deportations of immigrants and cuts at the U S Forest Function These policies are all deeply unpopular and I m predicting right now that you re going to see a stark turnaround Min mentioned One of Min s House colleagues Rep Sydney Kamlager-Dove of Los Angeles urged Democrats to stay in the fight during a fiery speech on the convention floor Saturday She even offered a strategy which drew cheers from the crowd Democrats she explained her voice rising We need to stay focused and fearless go into red districts with resolve Phone bank like you re bidding for Beyonc 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