How do Republicans win California now?

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The GOP came within 10 pts of winning statewide races only as recently as 2014 (Controller and Sec of State). Those were races between a strong, moderate-ish Republican and a typical liberal Democrat.

For the GOP to win statewide in the near future, they'll need to replicate having a strong moderate candidate, someone who is seen as inoffensive and different from the national party. That's the key: the State GOP needs to differentiate itself from the national party as much as possible in order to stay competitive, because the Trump brand is toxic in California. Then with the right candidate, they need to probably get lucky and have a bad Democrat run against them. Regardless, they'll need to run a strong campaign, run up margins in urban SoCal and keep the Bay Area and LA closer than usual. Perhaps run up margins in rural North and East too.