With a little luck at the ballot box, Republicans in the Legislature are set to expand on their increasingly diverse delegation, a far cry from the “Party of Old White Men” it’s been thought of by some for years.

And while Republicans have the primary goal of holding the relatively few seats in the Legislature they already have, increased diversity would show a modernizing party that could expand is electoral appeal. 

“Our party does not engage in the identity politics of the left, but we have placed an emphasis on recruiting and supporting the best candidates for every district,” said CAGOP Vice Chairwoman Harmeet Dhillon. “In our culturally rich state, that candidate is often someone with a minority background.”

Diverse candidates

In a district that includes much of Bakersfield, termed-out Republican Shannon Grove appears set to be replaced by Vince Fong, of Chinese descent. Fong won the primary with 60.8 percent of the vote in the largely Republican district.

Dante Acosta is poised to replace termed-out Republican Scott Wilk in a Republican-leaning district that includes Simi Valley and much of north Los Angeles County.

Acosta, of Mexican descent, came in second in the primary behind Democrat Christy Smith, who won 44.8 percent to 35.9 percent. However, Acosta split a majority of votes among two other Republican candidates.

In a largely Republican Orange County district, termed-out Don Wagner may be replaced by Harry Sidhu, who came to the United States in 1974 from India. Sidhu split a 67 percent majority of the vote among six Republicans and came in second behind the lone Democrat.

Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang, who was born in Taiwan, is running to replace Bob Huff, the only termed-out Senate Republican, in a competitive district that straddles Orange and Los Angeles counties. Chang faces longer odds than the others, as she advanced to the general with two Democratic candidates splitting a 55 percent majority of the vote.

If Chang does win, she’d increase diversity in the Senate Republican caucus. And filling her seat in the Assembly could be Philip Chen, of Chinese descent. Chen, like Acosta and Sidhu, was the second-place finisher in the primary behind a Democrat, splitting the vote with four Republicans in the Republican-leaning district.

“As an immigrant myself, I am proud to see more and more Republican candidates that other Californians with diverse backgrounds can identify with when they visit the polls,” said Dhillon, who was born in India. “This trend increases voter turnout and enthusiasm.”

Does it even matter?

California is a huge state, filled with diverse pockets. It’s often said that as the demographics of the state changed, the Republican Party failed to keep up.

Since becoming CAGOP chairman in 2013, Jim Brulte (along with Dhillon and other party leaders) has tried to change that trend in candidate recruitment. As he said in 2015: “In a neighborhood election, the candidate who most looks like, sounds like, has the shared values and shared experiences of the majority of the people in the neighborhood tends to win.”

In 2014, California Republicans sent a relatively large delegation of women to the Legislature, with a large Asian bloc that included Chang. In 2016, they’ll aim to expand on that with Acosta, Chen, Sidhu, Fong and Chang. 

“Under the leadership of Jim Brulte, California Republicans have done yeoman work in recruiting candidates who look like their constituents,” said John J. Pitney, Jr., a Roy P. Crocker professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College. “It’s a smart move: monochrome does not fit California, and in the long run, this strategy could help the party rebuild its strength.”

But, Pitney cautioned, the effect Trump — the presumptive nominee who has a tendency to say things sometimes rightly and sometimes wrongly viewed as racist — will have at the top of the GOP ticket is unclear.

“The problem is that people tend to see political parties through the prism of presidential candidates,” Pitney said. “Trump could ruin much of California GOP’s progress.”

By JOHN SEILER

The lines on the maps just released by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission could force a fierce dogfight for a new congressional district in Northern Orange County.  Assuming the map’s final contours remain much as that of the preliminary First Draft, this is a solid Republican seat. So the battle will be among GOP candidates. One potential candidate, incumbent Rep. Ed Royce of the current 40th District, reportedly will seek a new district to the southeast.

That means a possible race between Rep. Gary Miller, the incumbent congressman from the current 42nd District, and Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson. Miller told the Los Angeles Times that he and his staff still are reviewing the maps. I called his office for an update, but haven’t heard from him yet.

Allan Bartlett, a member of the Orange County Republican Party’s Central Committee, is predicting that Miller will run in this new district. That would mean Miller would have to establish some kind of residence in the Buena Park-La Habra-Fullerton-Yorba Linda area that makes up the proposed new district.

According to Miller’s Web site, “Mr. Miller currently resides in the city of Diamond Bar,” which is at the top of the current 42nd District:

But Diamond Bar would not even be near the new District, as currently proposed:

Nelson Challenge

Nelson won his supervisor’s seat last year when he beat Harry Sidhu, an Anaheim councilman who did not have his primary residence in the district. Nelson’s charge of “carpetbagger” range true with voters. In that race, Miller supported Sidhu.

Nelson told me he’s definitely running for the congressional seat. He made the decision after Assemblyman Chris Norby decided not to seek the seat. “I would never run against my good friend Chris Norby,” he said.

He charged that “Gary Miller is a scandal-ridden congressman.” According to Wikipedia, “In December 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that Miller had used ‘congressional muscle’ for ‘personal business matters’.” And, “In May 2010, the FOX affiliate MyFOXLA interviewed Miller over claims led by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) that he ‘directed millions of dollars in government money to non-profits headed by one of his campaign contributor[s], developer Jeffrey Burum’.”

“I grew up in Buena Park and was mayor of Fullerton,” Nelson said. “Now I’m a supervisor representing this area. Miller is from Diamond Bar and should stay there.”

Nelson also contrasted his policy views to those of Miller. Miller long has supported the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War. Nelson takes a Tea Party position opposing these wars and their great cost.

“It’s outrageous,” he charged. “Why are we paying for all this? Saddam’s gone.” He said he opposed the U.S. policy of “nation building,” in which the United States, instead of just vanquishing enemies, tries to establishing function democracies and civil societies. “I don’t think it’s possible,” he said.

Fullerton businessman and political activist Tony Bushala promised a strong campaign against Miller should he run in the Fullerton area. Bushala, a Fullerton native with strong family roots there, ran independent anti-carpetbagging campaigns against Sidhu last year; and against Linda Ackerman, an Irvine resident, when she ran against Norby in 2009. He also owns and edits the popular blog, Friends for Fullerton’s Future.

Carpetbagging Charges

“Gary Miller would be definitely carpetbagging,” Bushala told me. “He does live in Diamond Bar.” Bushala promised an independent campaign that would “hammer” Miller on the carpetbagging issue should Miller run in the new district.

Of course, other candidates than these two will run in the district, including other Republicans, Democrats and members of third parties.

Another unknown factor is how the new Top Two election method, imposed by Proposition 14 last year, will operate. According to Ballotpedia: “Proposition 14 requires that candidates run in a single primary open to all registered voters, with the top two vote-getters meeting in a runoff.”

Potentially, a Democrat could face a Republican in the runoff.

Or, two Republicans could face one another — possibly Nelson vs. Miller. That would be a real dogfight.