In the weeks leading up to California’s June primary, state Republican Party leadership took the unusual step of formally warning one of their own elected officials to stop what they considered deceptive campaign tactics.
The California Republican Party sent a cease-and-desist letter to Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, a San Diego Republican, accusing him of misusing official party branding on campaign materials distributed by his organization, Reform California. Party officials called it “a calculated deception of California’s Republican voters.”
The warning had little effect. When primary results came in, candidates aligned with DeMaio’s Reform California outperformed expectations, defeating establishment-backed Republicans in several San Diego-area races and demonstrating that the insurgent movement now carries real weight within the state party — whether GOP leadership likes it or not.
The most closely watched contest played out in the race to succeed termed-out Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones. Business and technology interests poured roughly $2 million into defeating Reform-backed candidate Kristie Bruce-Lane, who had lost two previous legislative bids. Despite that spending, Bruce-Lane defeated San Marcos City Councilmember Ed Musgrove, the choice of Jones and outgoing U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, and will face former San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott, a Democrat, in November.
Reform California notched other victories as well. In the Central Valley, Merced City Councilmember Darin DuPont advanced to challenge Democratic Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria. And in a San Diego County supervisor race, Reform-endorsed San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones edged out Vista Mayor John Franklin, who had the backing of party regulars.
DeMaio’s reach extends beyond legislative contests. Hector Barajas, spokesperson for Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, said Hilton values his relationship with DeMaio, who appeared with him on his podcast ahead of the primary. Reform California endorsed both Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco in the governor’s race.
DeMaio did not respond to multiple requests for comment from CalMatters.
**A Fight Over Style, Not Substance**
The battle for the San Diego-area Senate seat exposed a deeper divide within local Republican ranks. In February, a contentious meeting of San Diego County GOP committee members failed to produce consensus on whether to back Bruce-Lane or Musgrove.
Policy-wise, the two candidates aren’t far apart. But their approach to governing couldn’t be more different. Bruce-Lane and her allies describe her as a fighter willing to clash openly with Democrats — the same combative style that has made DeMaio a recognizable figure in a Legislature where Republicans are outnumbered three to one. Musgrove represents a more traditional wing of the party that favors quiet negotiation over confrontation.
Financially, the two campaigns looked very different. Musgrove drew $1.3 million from California Leads, a super PAC backed by Meta and Google that supports candidates favorable to the tech industry, along with nearly $530,000 from an oil industry-funded PAC. Bruce-Lane, by contrast, raised about $250,000, supplemented by $2,000 from DeMaio’s Reform Local Government PAC and roughly $13,000 from the San Diego County Gun Owners PAC.
State GOP Chair Corrin Rankin, who has a strained relationship with DeMaio, confirmed that Reform California eventually corrected campaign materials that had improperly used party branding.
Republican strategist Jon Fleischman said DeMaio gravitates toward candidates who are willing to make noise, even without the votes to win legislative battles. “Carl’s argument is: We don’t have the votes, all we have is our voice,” Fleischman said. He described Musgrove as likable but unlikely to be an aggressive presence on the Assembly floor — “more of a gentleman” than a “bomb thrower.”
Musgrove said he believes Bruce-Lane’s outspoken style may have won her the primary, but he remains convinced that pragmatism, not confrontation, gets legislation passed. “I have to believe she has a strategy to go up there and effectuate change rather than continuing to point out problems,” he said.
**A Familiar Tension Resurfaces**
The clash highlights a persistent question hanging over California’s Republican Party: whether to moderate its message to attract a broader coalition of voters, or double down on conservative positions to energize its most committed supporters. With registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans 45% to 25% statewide, and no GOP candidate having won statewide office in two decades, the stakes of that debate remain high.
Reform California’s fundraising success offers one answer to that question. The group brought in $5.8 million during the 2024 election cycle — roughly a quarter of what the entire state party raised over the same period — largely through small-dollar donations. The organization also successfully qualified a voter ID measure, Proposition 39, for the November ballot.
“DeMaio has built a very formidable and good political organization,” said GOP consultant Tim Rosales, even if his tactics rub some the wrong way. “California state politics is big league baseball. You got to have thick skin and you gotta be able to roll with it.”
Still, Republican strategists caution that Bruce-Lane faces a tough road in November. The San Diego-area district, once reliably Republican, has shifted toward the political center in recent years. Kamala Harris carried it by nearly 4 percentage points, and voter registration now favors Democrats slightly, with 35% Democratic, 34% Republican and 24% unaffiliated.
“This is a seat that’s going to be very difficult for Republicans to retain in a midterm election, so it’s not surprising that the leadership was preferring a more mainstream candidate,” said Republican strategist Rob Stutzman. He added, though, that primary voters don’t always choose the most electable option in a general election — “but it also doesn’t mean it should be written off.”
Bruce-Lane did not respond to multiple interview requests. Rankin, for her part, declined to say whether she’s worried about the party’s chances of holding the seat. “The only thing I’m saying from my position is that we have a Republican who made it past the primary. I think it’s going to be up to the voters,” she said.
**Not a New Fight**
The tension between pragmatism and ideological purity has dogged California’s Republican Party for decades, according to Rosales. Gerry Parsky, a former George W. Bush administration official, tried to steer the party toward the center in 2001, hoping to broaden its appeal to women and voters of color — an effort that provoked backlash from those who saw it as abandoning core positions on issues like immigration and marriage.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the last Republican to win statewide office in California, made similar appeals during his tenure as governor, warning in 2007 that the party was “dying at the box office” by ignoring issues like health care and the environment. Party leaders largely brushed off his warnings.
Friction has continued under Rankin’s leadership since she took the helm last year, including questions about her fundraising performance that prompted Jones and other party leaders to change how campaign funds flow to the state party — a move that further diluted its centralized influence.
For some Republicans, that internal discord isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “I happen to be on the side of more voices like Carl would be better, because I don’t think there should be a free pass on the floor of the Legislature,” Fleischman said. “What’s the point of a minority party if you’re not expressing the minority view?”
Original source: CalMatters
