In the week after the 2026 midterm elections saw the Democrats sweep seats in Congress and the California Legislature, the Golden State’s GOP saw not just state lawmakers voted out of office, but a change in party leadership.

California Republican Party Chair Corrin Rankin, who won the top position in the California Republican Party in March 2025, will not come back for another term after a number of Republican legislative seats flipped for the Democrats.

Rankin announced she would not seek reelection as the party’s chair in 2027, according to her comments sent to The Center Square. The announcement came after Republicans lost six seats in the Assembly and two in the Senate. Democrats continue to have a supermajority in both houses.

“Serving as Chairwoman of the California Republican Party has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Rankin said in her announcement to not run for another term. “The recent election results have reinforced something I have said consistently throughout my chairmanship: Our future success depends not only on raising more money or working harder, but on fundamentally changing how we work together. We must move beyond competing organizations and disconnected efforts toward a unified, coordinated strategy that puts winning ahead of everything else.”

In the state Assembly, Josh Hoover, R-Folsom; Jeff Gonzalez, R-Indio; Greg Wallis, R-Rancho Mirage; and Leticia Castillo, R-Corona, all lost their seats to Democratic challengers. Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach, termed out. All those seats will be filled by Democratic successors.

Assembly Minority Leader Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare, is falling behind in the race to keep her seat. According to the most recent election results from the California Secretary of State's Office, Macleod is behind with 49.3% of the vote at 3:39 p.m. on Friday. Democratic challenger Hipolito Angel Cerros has 50.7% of the vote in a race that remains too close to call.

There are 28 days left for elections officials to count ballots, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Macedo and her staff were not available to answer questions late Friday afternoon.

In the Senate, Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, lost his seat to a Democratic challenger, Chris Duncan. Former Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-Santee, reached his term limits and did not run for reelection. His seat will now be taken by Democrat Mara Elliot.

Strickland conceded the race in the California State Senate on Tuesday, writing on Facebook that the numbers were not likely to rebound in his favor. Strickland was not available to answer questions on Friday, and his Democratic challenger, Duncan, did not respond to The Center Square on Friday.

But Strickland could succeed Rankin as California Republican Party chair. In a statement sent on Friday, Strickland said he is running for party chair to restore political balance in California and give the party a fresh start.

“The party must recruit, train and endorse candidates for offices at every level of government,” Strickland wrote. “As CRP Chairman, I will ensure that we implement candidate recruitment and training to help our candidates be prepared to win.”