Interesting story in today’s San Francisco Chronicle about the growing irrelevance of the GOP in California. But first, exhibit A:
PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENTÂ
Completed Precincts: 2109 of 2109Â
                                                                   Vote Count       PercentageÂ
JOHN MCCAIN / SARAH PALIN (REP)Â Â Â Â 579,064Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 50.2%Â
BARACK OBAMA / JOE BIDEN (DEM)Â Â Â Â Â 549,558Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 47.6%
GOP appears in deep trouble in California
John Wildermuth, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, December 8, 2008
Â
With their registrations sinking and their political clout withering, California Republicans have come out of the November election in danger of slipping into political irrelevance across much of the state.
“There’s been a broad repudiation of traditional conservative Republicans in California,” said Tony Quinn, a former GOP analyst and co-editor of the California Target Book, which focuses on political contests in the state. “There are almost no areas in the state that can be considered safely Republican anymore.”
Since 2004, Republican registration has dropped by more than 317,000 in the state, while Democrats have picked up 563,000 new voters. Five previously GOP counties, including San Joaquin, Stanislaus and San Bernardino, now have more Democrats than Republicans.
Things aren’t any better in the Legislature, where Democrats hold commanding majorities in both the Assembly and state Senate. The Democrats picked up three seats in the Assembly last month, including the last partisan post held by a Republican in the nine-county Bay Area. Read the complete story.
“Individual Republicans can win if they can self-finance (their campaigns), be socially libertarian and fiscally conservative,” Quinn said. “That means they can’t be hostile to gays and need to be at least moderately pro-choice.”
No, they can leave hostility towards gays to the voters who approved Proposition 8.
To clarify Prevatt’s “Exhibit A” above, I believe that is the Orange County results.