Donald Trump made Inland Empire history as he won back the White House.
Nov. 5 election results certified by Riverside and San Bernardino counties Tuesday, Dec. 3, show Trump becoming the first Republican presidential candidate since George W. Bush in 2004 to win the two Inland counties.
Trump carried Riverside County by just under 12,000 votes — 49.30% to Kamala Harris’ 48.04%. He beat Harris by more than 16,000 votes — 49.67% to 47.53% — in San Bernardino County.
The president-elect, who staged a rally in the Coachella area in October, lost California as a whole. Results posted by the Secretary of State on Thursday, Dec. 5, show Harris, an Oakland native and former California attorney general, received 58.5% of the statewide vote, compared to 38.3% for Trump.
That said, Democratic presidential hopefuls typically get 60% or more of the vote in deep-blue California.
Nationally, Harris underperformed President Joe Biden’s 2020 totals as Trump made inroads with a broad range of demographic groups, including people of color.
Trump’s Inland Empire success may be due to the region’s Latino, working-class roots. Latinos make up more than half the population in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and Trump did particularly well with Latino men nationwide.
The Inland Empire lags behind California’s coastal counties in the percentage of residents with college degrees. Trump’s base relies on blue-collar voters who didn’t attend or graduate from college.
It was quite a successful election cycle for Inland Republicans.
For example, Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, a target of Democrats hoping to flip the House of Representatives, won reelection.
Also, GOP candidate Leticia Castillo scored an upset win for an Inland Assembly seat.
And while he lost statewide, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Garvey beat Democrat and Sen.-elect Adam Schiff in the Inland Empire.
The Secretary of State is expected to certify the election by Friday, Dec. 13.
