Weak support from Hispanics killed GOP candidates in California

Two articles that both look at the underperformance of the GOP in California are worth reading today.

At the New Republic Peter Schrag says Democrats should take comfort from the GOP's failure to win any statewide race in California. It is, he insists, still the future of the American electorate, as it always has been:

California, and indeed much of the West, is far ahead of the country, as it often has been—demographically, economically, politically, socially—and it points to a future in which the whole nation will look much  like California does now: multi-ethnic, increasingly tolerant of gays and other minorities, more global in outlook, and more environmentally conscious. California has always been on the leading edge of changes in the American electorate. It was the first to experience the tax revolt which subsequently swept the country in the form of the Reagan Revolution. It was ahead of the nation in its opposition to the Iraq war; it’s been a leaner in energy efficiency and progressive environmental regulation.

Schrag and Fred Barnes in The Weekly Standard agree that the failure of the GOP to win more Latino voters was critically important.

Last week Jeb Bush helped launch a new network- the Hispanic Leadership Network - that aims to rebuild Republican support among Hispanics:

The guiding philosophy behind the network, reported Politico, is that center-right Hispanic voters are a natural fit for Republicans – and the November elections underscored the potential – but in recent years, the party has pushed them away with immigration rhetoric that many viewed as an attack on their community. If the party can change its tone on immigration – but not necessarily the substance – and emphasize its support of small businesses, free trade, education reform, and family values, Republicans can begin winning back Hispanics, the network’s founders believe.

By way of postscript Barnes does say it wasn't all bad in the Golden State:

An $18 car fee, the proceeds going to spruce up parks, was voted down. So was an attempt to repeal a string of tax breaks for business. Limits on user fees, often described as “hidden taxes,” were approved. And legalization of marijuana was soundly defeated.

Comments

[CivilWarGuy]

Actually, the exit polling in CA shows exactly the opposite of what the article (citing the impossibly Leftwing New Republic) claims.
As pointed out in a widely reported speech, the Hispanic GOP vote in CA was about at the historical average. What hurt the GOP in CA was that the White vote in CA was 10% below the nationwide average.