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| Montara Beach on San Mateo County coast, 2018 (CalPolitiCal photo) |
For the first time in 134 years, the California coast will be
cleared of Republican congress members. When
the 116th Congress convenes in January 2019, none of the fifteen California congressional districts that border the Pacific Ocean will be occupied
by a Republican. This will be due to the
defeat Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Orange County) by Democrat Harley Rouda and the
replacement of Darrell Issa (R-San Diego County) with Democrat Mike Levin. Congressmen Rohrabacher and Issa represented
districts on the Orange and San Diego county coastlines.
The California coast extends 840 miles (1,350 km) from
Oregon to Mexico. The last time that
Democrats occupied all California congressional districts on the Pacific Coast
was during the 48th Congress, 1883 to 1885. There were then six congressional districts
in California, five of which touched the Pacific Ocean. All California members of the U.S. House of
Representatives were Democrats. Other
than the 116th Congress to be seated in 2019, that was the only
Congress since the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861-65) in which Democrats occupied every district over the entire length of the California coast.
Democrats came close to representing the entire California
coastline during the 75th Congress (1937-39), the high-water mark of
Democratic dominance of Congress during Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal
era. California then had ten
congressional districts (out of twenty statewide) that bordered the Pacific
Ocean. Democrats occupied eight of those
seats, covering the entire California coast north and south of San
Francisco. However, San Francisco itself
was represented by Franck Havenner, then a Progressive party member, and Richard Welch, a Republican. Both San Francisco
districts then apparently bordered the Pacific Ocean.
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| California congressional district map, 2013-23 (source: U.S. Geological Survey) |
As the 116th Congress begins in 2019, the fewest
Republicans will be sitting in the California House delegation since the end of
World War II, more than 70 years ago.
There will be just seven California House Republicans in January
2019. The last time that so few Republicans sat in the California U.S. House delegation was during the 79th
Congress (1945-47), which had also had seven California Republicans (out of the state's then-23 seats).
The 116th Congress will have a mere three southern
California Republicans (districts that are entirely or predominately south of
the northern border of Los Angeles County). The last Congress that had as many or fewer southern
California Republican members was the 79th Congress (1945-47), which
also had three southern California Republican members. In the 106th Congress (1999-2001), southern California sent 17 Republicans to Congress; the region has lost fourteen Republican congressional seats, a staggering 82 percent decline, over the past twenty years.
The 45 California Democratic members of the 116th
Congress also will set a new record for the largest number of members of one
party from a single state. No other
state can possibly topple this record for the foreseeable future because the
next largest U.S. House delegation is from Texas (36 members). When the 116th Congress convenes
in 2019, Texas will have 23 Republicans and 13 Democrats. Even if Texas were to elect 100 percent
Republicans or 100 percent Democrats in 2020, it would still fall short of
California’s “46 members from one party” benchmark set in the 2018
congressional election.
The 116th Congress also will be a 134-year low-water
mark for California House Republicans by another measure. Republicans will occupy just 13 percent of
California’s 53 congressional seats.
This is lower than the 20 percent (four seats out of twenty total) that
California Republicans filled during the 75th Congress (1937-39) at
the height of FDR’s New Deal. The only
other Congress since the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861) in which
California Republicans occupied a lower percentage of congressional seats was
during the 48th Congress (1883-85), when California Republicans
filled zero of the state’s six seats.
[Article revised on November 17, 2018 to reflect latest election returns.]
