4 (non-Proposition 50) takeaways from the California Republican convention
.jpg "Shirts for sale at the California Republican Party convention in Orange County on Friday, September 5, 2025.")
Proposition 50 – the ballot measure asking California voters to adopt a congressional map that benefits Democrats until after the 2030 census – dominated at the California Republican Party’s fall convention in Orange County this past weekend.
But Golden State Republicans did more than strategize over how to beat Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting ballot proposition.
Here are four additional takeaways from the weekend.
DeMaio revs voter ID engine
While Prop. 50 sucked up most of the oxygen at the convention, there was strong support for a ballot measure to tighten voter ID requirements. Organizers were putting final touches on their signature-gathering infrastructure to hit the ground running later this month.
“The deadline is 180 days from Sept. 19 but I want to get them done by Christmas because I want to stuff Gavin’s stocking with a nice little gift,” said Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, the initiative’s main backer.
Volunteers have spent months prepping envelopes so DeMaio can send petitions to 250,000 people who’ve already pledged to collect signatures as soon as state officials give the OK.
A Berkeley IGS poll from May found strong bipartisan support for the issue, but some Republicans fear their party isn’t doing enough to ensure the question gets to the 2026 ballot.
“I feel, unfortunately, the GOP is now distracted and focused on Prop. 50 when they need to multitask,” said Yvette Corkrean of San Francisco. “If we’re smart, we’re going to focus on them at the same time.”
Candidate’s Auschwitz post condemned
The party officially condemned Kyle Langford, a Republican candidate running for governor. Langford, a 24-year-old with long odds of winning, was roundly criticized earlier this summer after he posted a selfie in front of Auschwitz, the notorious Nazi death camp, with the caption “My 0% unemployment plan.”
The Auschwitz Memorial Museum denounced the post on X as a “profound moral failure” and “disturbing display of insensitivity.” In an interview with the National Catholic Reporter, Langford doubled down on the post and claimed the Holocaust “has been used as a psychological weapon for Jewish supremacy.”
“The unfortunate reality is just about anybody can register as a Republican. There needs to be a line in the sand to protect the brand of our party and our values,” said party communications director Matt Shupe, who proposed the resolution. It denounces Langford’s ideology as “deeply offensive and morally reprehensible.”
Delegates overwhelmingly approved the condemnation in a voice vote on Sunday.
Governor candidates work the room
Democratic former Rep. Katie Porter has led most polls for the governor’s race, though the biggest slice of voters remain undecided. Candidates Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco spent the weekend trying to win support from their fellow Republicans ahead of the June 2026 primary.
Steve Hilton, the former Fox News host and adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, greeted supporters with European-style cheek kisses as he dashed between meetings.
An offroad vehicle plastered with the face of Bianco, sheriff of Riverside County, spent the weekend parked in front of the convention hotel.
“As a person that enjoys and respects dirt and off-road racing, I think that’s about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” Bianco said, adding that while he had “nothing to do with” the design, he knows the vehicle owner.
Other candidates who have yet to break through in polls hosted parties: Ché Ahn, a Pasadena pastor who successfully sued to overturn Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pandemic church closures, hosted a late-night ice cream social while repeat GOP hopeful Leo Zacky held a casino night and urged Republicans to “gamble on the outsider.”
Trump 2028?
More than a few Republicans sported Trump 2028 hats and shirts, a reference to a potential third term for the president.
“It’s a joke,” said Jerry Stepke, who was staffing the table of MAGA Mall, a merchandiser with several Trump 2028 pieces among the dozens of shirts, hats and flags for sale. “I think he’s done” at the end of his term. “The poor guy’s been impeached three times and almost shot in the head twice.”
The 22nd Amendment bars presidents who have been elected twice from running again, though Trump has publicly mused about giving it a try.
Larry Maloney, a “big-time fan” wearing a Trump 2028 hat, believes it’s possible under a certain scenario: Trump “runs as vice president, JD Vance runs as president, and then after they take the oath, Vance resigns, and Trump becomes president,” the San Jose resident said.
It’s a legal theory that, while untested, has been batted around since long before Trump rode a golden escalator onto the national political stage.
“Or we pass a constitutional amendment to allow him a third term, which is a very high bar, yes, but theoretically it’s possible,” Maloney said.
This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "4 (non-Proposition 50) takeaways from the California Republican convention."
