Republican 'Young Guns' effort misfires POLITICS

Assemblyman David Valadao, R-Hanford, whose district a proposed high-speed rail line would pass, urged lawmakers to reject a measure that would provide about $4.5 billion funding for the rail system, during the debate over the bill at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, July 5, 2012. By a 51-27 vote the bill, which would allow the state to begin selling $2.6 billion was approved sent to the Senate. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) less Assemblyman David Valadao, R-Hanford, whose district a proposed high-speed rail line would pass, urged lawmakers to reject a measure that would provide about $4.5 billion funding for the rail system, during the ... more Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, ASSOCIATED PRESS Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Republican 'Young Guns' effort misfires 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

Mitt Romney's loss in the 2012 presidential election this month brought unexpected collateral damage on another Republican drive - the much-touted "Young Guns" effort to bring a new crop of party stars to Washington.

The GOP's recruitment campaign was led in California by Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, the House majority whip, who joined Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia and 2012 vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as the founders of the group touted as "a new generation of conservative leaders" on Capitol Hill.

Their nationwide effort, funded by the National Republican Congressional Committee, aimed to recruit and promote rising new stars in the party who were chosen for their viability and fundraising potential. It was billed as the best way to revive the party and cultivate new GOP legislators in California and other blue states.

But the results at the polls weren't impressive. All but one of the Young Guns candidates in California were defeated, including Ricky Gill, the 25-year-old Indian American from San Joaquin County, while some longtime GOP veterans lost, including Rep. Dan Lundgren of Gold River (Sacramento County), who fell to up-and-coming Democrat Ami Bera.

One winner

McCarthy's effort to increase the ranks of Republicans in Congress, assisted by fellow Rep. Devin Nunes of Tulare, ended up with just one winner: Republican David Valadao, a dairy farmer who challenged Democrat John Hernandez in the new 21st District on the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley.

"If this is Kevin McCarthy's idea of resuscitation, we should all be pretty glad he's not a doctor," quipped Andy Stone, communications director of the Democratic House Majority PAC.

But Republicans, including McCarthy - who admitted on election night that he was "depressed" by his party's losses across the nation - already seemed to be looking ahead.

"The Young Guns program will absolutely continue in the 2014 midterms - as will our members' and candidates' efforts to complement Young Guns by putting infrastructure and resources on the ground in places that have been without such support for quite a long time," McCarthy spokesman Mike Long said last week.

"These efforts will put us in a better position in a non-presidential election cycle," Long added. "In 2008, when Young Guns first started, House Republicans lost 21 seats and President Obama was elected president. Two years later, 62 Young Gun candidates were elected to the House and Republicans took the majority. Whip McCarthy has always said that our efforts in California would take two cycles and that we're in it for the long haul."

Still, McCarthy said after the Nov. 6 election that Republicans would have to make some tough assessments about where they can get the best results in the future.

"We're going to look at it and see where we made mistakes," McCarthy told reporters. "There's always places we look at and see where we can improve."

Some state political watchers say McCarthy gets credit for taking on a tough challenge in a state where Republican voter registration has fallen to 29 percent.

"Kevin did the best he could with a short hand," California Republican strategist Patrick Dorinson said. "In California, the Democrat naturally starts off with an advantage. You have a popular president. But in the midterm, there won't be Obama to bring people out to the polls, and if they think they're going to re-create the Obama machine, they're mistaken."

Hopes for future

Dorinson said mentoring promising candidates such as Kim Vann, the moderate, pro-choice Colusa County supervisor who lost her race against incumbent Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove (Sacramento County), will help the Young Guns program put a spotlight on future GOP stars in the state.

Some Republicans have suggested that such candidates could get a boost if the state party, troubled by financial and leadership problems, gets a fresh start. Jim Brulte, the former Republican leader in the California Senate and Assembly, could take over as chairman of the California Republican Party in February, after current leader Tom Del Beccaro leaves the post, sources say.

California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton, whose party picked up six Congressional seats in California in the 2012 cycle, said the Democrats' wins were directly related to issues that the Young Guns failed to address.

"We had the ground game and we have the demographics," he said, adding that Latinos, Asians, youth voters and women were solidly Democratic in 2012.

That overwhelming support was a result of seeds planted long ago by the party, Burton said. "In California, we were doing things in 2000, working with county committees, labor leaders and activists. We had good candidates" at the local, state and congressional levels.

Dorinson said such efforts will take time for Republicans to develop and added that the majority party shouldn't get too comfortable.

"Democrats are getting older in this state," he said, adding that California's U.S. senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco are in their 70s.

"The longer they stay, the more they keep down the young folks," he said. "And they'll eventually go through the same soul-searching as the Republicans are."