Ballot boxes in Foster City for the November 2020 general election. (Photo: MariaX, via Shutterstock)The state’s House delegation – now at 53, but likely to drop by one seat after the new redistricting – stood at 46 Democrats and only seven Republicans after the 2018 elections. But last year, Republicans captured four seats from Democrats — which caught political observers by surprise.
A Census worker canvassing a neighborhood. (Photo: Wayne Via, Shutterstock)Pushing back the census deadlines could have a profound political impact on California, ultimately forcing the state to draw scores of political districts for the 2022 elections within a tiny, two-week window. The Trump administration’s plan, announced earlier by Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham, calls for a 120-day delay in developing and reporting the finished data.
An attendee at a Democratic political demonstration in California prior to the 2018 mid-term elections. (Photo: Karl_Sonnenberg, via Shutterstock)ANALYSIS: The 2018 election should have been a breeze for California Republicans. But three simultaneous forces, all moving toward Democrats, blew those prospects away. While one might think things can only get better for the GOP, there are some serious short- and mid-term obstacles to their recovery.