Pro-Trump California GOP leader ousted after losing two Senate seats in November election
California Senate Republicans ousted Bakersfield Sen. Shannon Grove as their leader on Wednesday, capping a brutal two months for the caucus after it lost two of its 11 seats and Grove echoed conspiracy theories about the November election online.
Sen. Scott Wilk of Santa Clarita, who narrowly won his own reelection campaign to hold on to his Antelope Valley seat, will take on the leadership role, spokeswoman Eileen Ricker confirmed to The Sacramento Bee. Wilk is considered a more moderate member of the caucus who occasionally votes across the aisle.
Grove, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, has stirred controversy within her party in recent weeks after posting several dubious claims online about the election results and the deadly insurrection at the Capitol two weeks ago.
The Army veteran and former Assemblywoman also wrote on Twitter Nov. 8 that she still believed “@realDonaldTrump will be President fo(r) the next 4 years.”
“#EXPOSETHECORRUPTION #USA” Grove wrote, including a Biblical photo that a spokesman said represented the former leader’s “faith that our candidates can prevail in many of these races.”
“Patriots don’t act like this!!! This was Antifa,” Grove then wrote in a Jan. 6 tweet, which she later deleted. Grove was quoting a pro-Trump attorney’s claim that rioters who stormed the federal building were not supporters of the former president, but rather members of the disorganized left-wing movement.
Grove’s caucus was also the only Republican body to lose members this year, after the state Assembly gained a seat and the Congressional caucus flipped four districts in their favor.
Former Senators Ling Ling Chang of Diamond Bar and John Moorlach of Costa Mesa lost their re-election bids in two of four competitive Senate races. Wilk faced a tough contest defending his increasingly purple district, and the caucus fought to elect Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh to keep the Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles Counties’ Senate District 23 seat red.
“It’s not unusual for leadership to be questioned after losing an election cycle,” said GOP consultant Rob Stutzman. “If someone like Sen. Wilk were to become leader, that would be an encouraging sign because he’s someone who’s proven to be a Republican who can win very competitive races.”
Wilk said in a prepared statement that he and his caucus members stand “ready with solutions” to California’s “unprecedented challenges.”
“Senate Republicans are committed to putting the middle back in middle class by improving economic opportunities for all Californians,” he said, “restoring faith in government and ensuring our children and families receive the support they need to succeed.”
Wilk was “unanimously selected” as the next leader, according to a Senate Republican Caucus press release, and the transition will take effect within the next few weeks.
In a statement, Grove said she looked forward to continuing work in the Senate to “restore the California dream.”
“I know Sen. Wilk will do an outstanding job leading the caucus as we face the many challenges that lie ahead,” she said.
Democrats still maintain a supermajority in the 120-member Legislature. But Stutzman and other Republican strategists have still warned against party members aligning themselves too closely with Trump’s divisive rhetoric should they have any hope of restoring the California GOP.
“Republicans that have promoted conspiracy theories and the lie that the election was unjust ultimately need to recant and even apologize if they’re to have credibility moving forward,” Stutzman said. “California Republicans are better off being led by people who have not been part of promoting this tragic time in American history.”
