Rancho Cucamonga Republican Paul Chabot, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2014 and 2016, is moving to the Lone Star State – but not before dispensing some harsh words for California progressives.

Chabot recently used Facebook to announce his family’s move to McKinney, Texas, lamenting that liberals “have degraded the State of Reagan to but a shell of its former self.”

“Shortly after the November election Brenda and I took a long hard look at our state of California and agreed it was time to move to ‘America,’ to find a region of our nation that embraces the values and morals we cherish,” wrote Chabot, a 42-year-old married father of four.

Chabot said his battles for Congress were a fight to bring back “conservative principles.”

“But voters had other ideas, selecting Hillary (Clinton) by 30-points, voting to legalize drugs, let more felons out of prison, while the super-majority liberals in Sacramento push farther left in radical ideals that simply don’t make sense or align with who we are as Americans.”

The Chabots visited McKinney, north of Dallas, over Thanksgiving.

“We fell in love with the city, its people and the values that guide Texas,” Chabot said.

‘Great plans’

In an email, Chabot wrote that he ran for Congress “to fight for the American family – to return family values and safe streets to a region that is looking more like a Third World country.

“We had great plans, if elected, to destroy gangs, bring back a (military) base to San Bernardino, fix the broken Loma Linda VA hospital, and advocate for values that would have restored the Inland Empire.

“All that is not to be and my wife and I refuse to remain in such a state,” Chabot wrote. “You can’t help people who don’t want the help.”

He described California as “overrun by illegals, drug addicts and violent criminals under the umbrella of a radical liberal ideology that has destroyed the state.”

Chabot wrote that he and “a few partners” are “launching a website that will help families and businesses in liberal areas of the nation identify conservative states and cities to relocate to, working in both residential and commercial real estate.

“I will continue to serve in the Navy, but my number one job is being a husband and father,” he wrote. “I have no intentions of running for office. Texas has plenty of conservatives in office doing the work I would have done in California – We are in great hands!”

McKinney is currently represented by a Republican in Congress.

A naval reserve intelligence officer and Iraq War veteran, Chabot first made a name for himself as a vocal opponent of drug legalization. He ran for the open seat representing the 31st Congressional District – Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, San Bernardino, Colton, Loma Linda, Rialto and Grand Terrace – in 2014.

He overcame a crowded field to face Democrat Pete Aguilar in the general election. Chabot came within 3,500 votes of beating Aguilar, a former Redlands mayor who enjoyed substantial support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

In an election postmortem, Chabot blamed his loss on a lack of support from the GOP establishment. He soon launched his 2016 bid to unseat Aguilar and rose above better-funded competition to finish second to Aguilar in the June 2016 primary.

GOP FLIGHT

But in the general election, Chabot struggled to keep pace with Aguilar’s fund-raising in what became an increasingly personal and negative contest.

Aguilar’s campaign scrutinized Chabot’s financial disclosures and compared him to Donald Trump, while Chabot posted campaign signs calling Aguilar “Agu-Liar.”

Aguilar finished more than 26,000 votes ahead of Chabot in November, and Chabot again faulted the GOP for not giving his campaign more support.

Chabot joins other California Republicans who left the state after unsuccessful campaigns, including 2010 U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, who ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016 and now lives in Virginia, and 2014 gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari, who moved to Minnesota.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9547 or jhorseman@scng.com