In this Jan. 28, 2020, file photo, former Navy combat pilot Mike Garcia greets supporters in Simi Valley, Calif. Long-suffering California Republicans see hope for November after Garcia's special election victory in the 25th District. (AP Photo/Michael Blood, File)
MICHAEL R. BLOOD
AP Political Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California Republicans have been waiting for a turning point and some think it's finally arrived.
The party of Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan has been fading in California for years: Democrats control every statewide office, dominate the Legislature and hold all but eight of the state's 53 U.S. House seats. The GOP's deficit in voter registrations: a staggering 4.4 million.
But the victory last week of a President Donald Trump-supporting former Navy pilot in a contested U.S. House race north of Los Angeles has emboldened Republicans.
"Do I think we've turned a corner? Absolutely," said Jessica Millan Patterson, who heads the state party.
The GOP hit a humiliating low in 2018 when Democrats picked up seven Republic
