Opinion: Carl DeMaio Stands in the Way of a San Diego Republican Comeback

After El Cajon Councilmember Gary Kendrick flipped to the Democratic Party, San Diego Republicans must look inward for answers on how we grow locally.

Yes (thankfully), the Republican vote spiked in 2024. But outside that election, we’ve been steadily losing ground in San Diego County.

That decline has coincided with the rise of Reform California, founded by Carl DeMaio. Since 2017, DeMaio has raised over $25 million — effectively cannibalizing the Republican Party of San Diego County.

During that time, DeMaio has relentlessly attacked fellow Republicans, pouring money into primaries and bullying candidates into conforming to a personal, politically motivated litmus test just to appear on Reform California’s voter guide — often at a steep cost to the candidate.

Unlike the Republican Party, where endorsements are made by publicly elected central committee members, Reform California’s endorsements are dictated by DeMaio alone— guided by a cadre of paid consultants.

And whom does he choose to back over Party-endorsed Republicans?

In 2024, he endorsed Tony Blain over the Republican Party’s unanimously endorsed candidate, Jared Wilson. DeMaio knew about the disturbing allegations surrounding Blain but backed him anyway — simply because Wilson and PORAC (the Peace Officers Research Association of California) didn’t support DeMaio’s Assembly campaign.

That endorsement triggered a rift with the Party. Blain, elected with Reform California’s support, was recalled within a year — after his arrest on charges including perjury and soliciting bribes.

DeMaio has also backed liberal groups. In 2024, Reform California and DeMaio’s Assembly campaign gave almost $500,000 to the Progressive California Voter Guide that attacked Republican-endorsed candidates—including President Donald Trump.

With friends like these, who needs enemies?

DeMaio-backed Republican Party Central Committee members—including a failed Oceanside treasurer candidate who was the subject of an emergency gun order and a Reform CA staffer convicted of DUI—now control the local GOP and take marching orders from DeMaio.

They’ve advocated for a “no endorsement” policy that strips the Party of its most powerful tool in primary elections. This policy is as strategic as it is hypocritical. While Reform California makes endorsements in nearly every race, the Party is silenced, giving DeMaio’s endorsements free rein. The formula is simple: the weaker the Party, the stronger Reform becomes.

That might be defensible if Reform California produced more victories and fewer tax hikes. But since Reform’s creation, the electoral results have been abysmal. He’s even backing tax-hiking Republicans like San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones, who lied on her 2025 Party endorsement questionnaire. She claimed she hadn’t supported putting tax increases on the ballot when in fact she had, and still does.

Opposing tax-hiking Republicans used to be DeMaio’s calling card. Now, he sacrifices principle for political leverage with candidates who backed his allies in Party leadership contests.

Even on issues where Republicans agree — like the Voter ID initiative — DeMaio has obstructed progress.

Dating back to 2023, DeMaio raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to qualify Voter ID for the ballot. Yet in 2024, he failed to submit a single signature, despite raising at least $221,000. Worse, he diverted those funds to support his Assembly campaign—now under investigation by the FPPC for potential illegal misuse. His bait-and-switch fundraising tactics, often aimed at seniors, are unethical at best.

In 2025, DeMaio filed new paperwork claiming to lead the Voter ID signature-gathering effort. While he’s finally investing some money, the real credit belongs to Julie Luckey, whose operation has collected more than 75 percent of the required signatures and is funded by her son, tech mogul Palmer Luckey.

As long as Reform California continues to cannibalize Republican candidates and fuel fratricidal civil wars, San Diego Republicans will remain in the political wilderness.

DeMaio has a record — not of defeating Democrats — but of defeating Republicans. The last time he beat a Democrat in a general election was 2008. Since then, he’s poured millions into attacking conservatives.

As SD GOP chairman, I saw firsthand how destructive his influence had become—from bullying committee members to undermining endorsed candidates. His goal was clear: sideline the elected leadership of the Republican Party and elevate Reform California as the true power and his own self-promotion machine.

Republicans are tired of the infighting. We want to focus our energy on defeating failed Democratic leaders—not dodging grenades thrown by someone who claims to be on our side.

Until we stop enabling this chaos, we won’t win again. And that’s a tragedy—not just for Republicans, but for every San Diegan who’s desperate for a common-sense alternative to the radical vision the Democrats have forced on our communities.

Corey Gustafson is the former chairman of the Republican Party of San Diego County and lives in Escondido.  

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