California's Republican Party Is a Huge Joke

The number of registered Republicans in California has plunged to levels so low that it’s almost even with the number of people declaring “no party preference.”

Republicans had just 28,649 more registered voters than independents as of April 6, according to an analysis from California Secretary of State Alex Padilla released on Thursday. For reference, California has 18,854,829 registered voters.

The California GOP saw a 3.28% drop in registered voters while Democrats saw a 1.1% rise in their ranks. Independents saw a 4.05% increase.

Republican voters outnumbered Democrats in just seven of the 53 congressional districts in the state, according to the data. But when the number of independents and Democrats are combined, there are no districts in California where Republicans hold a majority.

Only one county in California had a numerical majority of Republican voters. Modoc County, which borders Oregon and Nevada in the northeast corner of the state, has 50.38% of voters registered with the GOP, according to the state report. This doesn’t mean a great deal, though: that figure comprises a total of 2,583 people.

This is all significant because Republicans hold 14 of California’s 53 seats in the House of Representatives. At least eight of those 14 GOP house members are “vulnerable” to flip in the next election, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Democrats need to flip at least 23 seats to reclaim the House majority, meaning that California will play a central role in those efforts.

Correction: This blog originally said that Modoc County bordered Oregon and Utah. We meant, of course, Nevada! It’s been a long week.