CRP Chairman Named To SacBee's "Californians To Watch In 2014" List

◼ The Sacramento Bee features a handful of newsmakers at the end of each year as being worthy of their readers attention – and for 2014, CRP Chairman Jim Brulte made the list. - CRP

Meet & Greet with CRP Chairman Jim Brulte

MEET AND GREET, with a Town Hall format
JIM BRULTE, retired California Senator, and current Chairman of the California Republican Party; Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, who is running for Governor in 2014;
Elissa Wadleigh, Vice-Chairman, California Republicans Northwest Region.
Saturday, September 14th
At the Fortuna Veteran's Memorial Building
1426 Main Street, Fortuna

Doors open at 11:30 AM, Lunch at 12:30 PM -- $15 each, $25/couple
It's a catered lunch, so, please RSVP by September 8th
Reservations: (707) 498-3101 Gwen Morris, or (707) 442-2788 Annette de Modena

California GOP chair rebuilding the party from scratch

◼ This is the second time Brulte, 57, a former minority leader in the state senate, helped rebuild California's Republican Party. But this time it will be even harder, he said, because it's been three long election cycles since a Republican won a statewide office. Brulte's six-year rebuilding plan is modest and the task daunting: making the party relevant again. - David M. Drucker/Washington Examiner

Jim Brulte elected California Republican Party chairman

Newly elected CRP Chairman Jim Brulte  Credit: sanluisobispo.com via ivn.com

◼ California Republicans elected former GOP legislative leader Jim Brulte as the party's new leader this morning. - Sacramento Bee

Brulte, who served in the Legislature until 2004, faced no serious opposition in his bid to become California Republican Party chairman. He replaces Tom Del Beccaro, who decided not to run for a second term after a rocky run as chair.

Brulte is taking over at a low point for Republicans in California. Republicans currently hold no statewide office and account for less than 30 percent of the state's registered voters. They lost key congressional races and ceded supermajority control of the state Legislature to Democrats in the 2012 election.

Brulte says he wants to focus on "blocking and tackling" - seeking to revive the party's fundraising, voter registration and turnout programs. Supporters passed out buttons with a picture of nuts and bolts before the vote at the general session of the party's spring convention....

A Nuts and Bolts Approach to Rebuilding the Republican Party

◼ Jim Brulte said in his candidacy speech to the San Diego Republican Central Committee that he wanted to be “a boring state party chair focused on the nuts and bolts.” He said it wasn’t a matter of new ideas, Republican ideas are fine thank you. Brulte announced he would focus on fundraising, volunteers and candidates rather than on policy and issues. - Fox&Hounds

I had a chance recently to ask Ron Nehring why Brulte singled out San Diego as an exemplar. Nehring referred me to his ◼ 2002 article, Turnaround in San Diego and the Five Point Program he championed to breath new life into a fractious central committee as the incoming chairman....

In his 2002 article Nehring elaborates, speaking of “ideological divisions paralyzing county central committees.” This is unnecessary, he says. There is no liberal way to register voters, no conservative way to raise money, no moderate way to get out the vote, he argues.
In fact, in my brief conversation with Nehring, he said that ideological infighting is most aggressive and destructive where the party organization is failing on the nuts and bolts. Nehring told me that as 2001 incoming San Diego chair he brought in great speakers (Grover Norquist, Ward Connerly, etc.), moved the monthly meeting out of a dingy office into an upscale hotel and instituted a meet and greet social hour. Ideological battles fell by the wayside and precinct work, voter registration and fundraising increased dramatically....

CFRW Endorsements:

The CFRW endorses Jim Brulte for CRP Chair, Harmeet Dhillon for Vice Chair, and Patricia Welch Foster for Secretary.

— CFRW Advocate (@CFRWadvocate) February 10, 2013