February 2023 Newsletter Articles

froJessica Patterson Seeks Reelection as CRP Chair

Jessica Patterson, the Chair of the California Republican Party since 2019, is running for a third term and believes that the achievements under her leadership warrant her reelection. She said, “I am humbled and honored to announce my run for a third term as Chair of the California Republican Party. Since my first election in 2019, the CAGOP has made tremendous strides in rebuilding our Party and advancing a California Comeback that will benefit everyone who calls the Golden State home. With our incredible partners around the state, I am eager to grow on our Party’s shared success for two more years.”

Following Chairwoman Patterson’s election in 2019, the CAGOP has:

- - Picked up 5 House seats – 4 flips in 2020 and 1 in 2022 – while protecting every House Republican incumbent. California Republicans have not picked up House seats in back-to-back cycles since 1992 and 1994.
  - Flipped two Assembly seats in 2022, including in Assembly District 7 where Republican Josh Hoover defeated a 10-year incumbent who grossly outspent him.
  - Had voter support on 67% of the ballot initiatives in which the CAGOP took a position in 2022, up from 64% voter support in 2020.
  - Added 522,000 Republicans to the voter rolls since 2019.
  - Received more than $7.5 million in investments from the Republican National Committee since 2019.
  - Added 37,000 new donors since 2019. The CAGOP raised $35.5 million to help elect Republicans in the 2021-2022 election cycle alone.
  - Built a team of 76,000 volunteers around the state who executed 29 million voter contacts in the 2022 cycle – a 90% increase from the 2020 cycle.
  - Brought California Trailblazers, the CAGOP’s candidate-development program in house, training more than 1,500 candidates from local to federal office.
  - Expanded CAGOP’s Data Department, including moving 1.3 billion data points from PDI to GOP Data Center and adding 2.5 billion new data points since the transition. Campaigns using CAGOP data have expanded 266% since 2019.
  - Put together the Party’s most aggressive and active Election Integrity program in state history, giving voters the confidence needed to know that casting a ballot is safe and secure.

She is endorsed by nearly all of the Republican state legislators and all of the Republican Congress members from California. “The California Republican Party is stronger and more competitive today because of Chairwoman Patterson’s steadfast leadership,” said Speaker Kevin McCarthy .

Her record of strong and effective leadership and a no-nonsense, get-it-done style elicits strong support from grassroots leaders as well. Orange County Republican Chairman Fred Whitaker said, “Chairwoman Patterson was commonly on the ground and in the fight with us, knocking on doors and talking to voters, working with candidates, raising money and implementing a top-tier ground game.”

Jessica Millan Patterson grew up in Hacienda Heights and Montebello, east of Los Angeles. While in high school, she started in politics as a volunteer for Governor Pete Wilson. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at Cal State University-Northridge in political science and government and worked as an intern with Assemblymember Bob Pacheco and then the CRP. Over the years she has held many positions leading Republicans in a county party, the state party, gubernatorial campaigns, presidential campaigns, and training legislative candidates.

Jessica is married to Wes Patterson, a nonprofit fundraiser. They and their two daughters live in Simi Valley near the Reagan Library. You can learn more about Jessica Patterson on her website millianpatterson.com. She will be speaking Wednesday, February 15 online to SPARC and CCR.

Kevin McCarthy’s California Journey

Before entering Congressional Leadership, Kevin McCarthy traveled a long road in California politics. Despite being one of the “Young Guns” along with Paul Ryan and Eric Cantor, he was already a California political veteran by the time he got to Congress.

Born in Bakersfield in 1965, he graduated from Cal State Bakersfield in 1989 and earned an MBA in 1994. His early days as the entrepreneur founder of Kevin O’s Deli and intern for Congressman Bill Thomas are highlighted in his official biography. But his long journey up through California’s political system is less well known. As staff and ultimately district representative for his Congressman, Kevin learned the ins and outs of his local community. While working in the Congressional office, he joined his local Kern County Young Republican chapter. His hard work and ability to make sure everyone was enjoying their YR experience propelled him to become California State Chair and later Chairman of the Young Republican National Federation.

In 2000, Kevin ran and was elected to his first public office, Kern Community College District Trustee. When his local Assembly seat came open in 2002, he was well prepared. After winning his primary 50% – 43% he went on to prevail in the general election with 76% of the vote. As a freshman Assemblyman, he began conversations with his colleagues about who should be leader. In a result that foreshadowed his later rise, Republican members of the State Assembly elected him as their leader in his first term. In that role, he served on the board of the CAGOP and helped manage Republican Assembly campaigns throughout the state. It was an experience he never forgot.

After his election to Congress in 2006, he co-founded the Congressional Young Guns program to train and develop Republican Congressional candidates around the country. In 2011, he began conversations to start a training program for California GOP state legislative candidates. That program, called California Trailblazers, proved especially effective at helping these candidates prepare for the rigors of California legislative campaigns, which are often compared to congressional races in the size and scope of the effort required.

As McCarthy moved up in the ranks of Congressional leadership, beginning with House Republican Chief Deputy Whip in 2009, he paid special attention to winning Congressional races in California. In 2012, he organized a statewide tour of California GOP candidates for Congress, raising funds for targeted races across the state. In the 2020 elections, he helped the CAGOP raise millions of dollars which under Jessica Millan Patterson’s leadership flipped four congressional seats to the Republican column. In 2022, with McCarthy’s continued support, California Republicans flipped a 5th seat, helping to cement the GOP majority in Congress.

In January of 2023, Kevin McCarthy was elected as California’s first Republican Speaker of the House. Soon after he was honored in his hometown of Bakersfield as 1400 people gathered for dinner to pay tribute to their native son.