Another California GOP lawmaker is leaving the Republican Party. Here’s why

California’s Republican Party is getting even smaller.

The super-minority in the Legislature has lost another state lawmaker, as former Assembly Republican leader Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley has decided to run for re-election in 2020 with no party preference.

“Instead of focusing on solutions for the big problems that we’ve got, we focused on winning elections,” Mayes said. “For me, I’m at the point in my life where I’m done with gamesmanship.”

He’s the second Republican state lawmaker to defect from the party this year, following Assemblyman Brian Maienschein of San Diego, who became a Democrat in January.

Mayes has tried to change the direction of the party in liberal California by forming an organization for moderate Republicans called “New Way California.” Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the most prominent member of the group, who told Republicans at a March New Way event, “If you take your guidelines just from the party, it is deadly.”

Mayes has often spoken critically of President Donald Trump and voiced his support for a more moderate set of policies.

“It’s something I’ve been giving quite a bit of thought to,” Mayes said of his decision to leave the party. “Really simply: It’s because of my frustration with the way our political system is working today. The political discord in this country is tearing us apart. Unfortunately, all politics is no longer local. It’s national.”

Republicans have lost several seats in recent years, and Democrats secured their largest advantage in the Capitol in decades.

The 2018 midterms handed Democrats their biggest advantage in the Assembly since 1883 and largest advantage in the state Senate since 1962 (except for a brief period in 2012).

Though Mayes declined to follow Maienschein’s lead in joining the Democratic Party, California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks is glad to see another GOP defection.

“Assemblyman Chad Mayes has come to understand what we Democrats have known for many years,” Hicks said in a statement. “The Republican Party remains stuck in the past and fails to represent a California that works for all of us.”

Mayes formalized his decision on Thursday when he filed his paperwork with a county clerk. The news then spread on Twitter within conservative circles. While he believes having the Republican title on a ballot could have hurt him politically, he said his move to switch parties was not done in an effort to improve his re-election chances.

“Was my calculation about politics and electoral success? No, it was not,” he said.

Mayes enjoys the support of his more moderate colleagues.

“Chad is a good colleague and I enjoy serving with him,” said a statement from Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo. “He puts good policy and his constituents first and I have no doubt he will continue to do so.”

Other party leaders, however, are upset with Mayes’ decision.

“I‘d rather fight, than switch,” Cynthia Bryant wrote on Twitter, executive director and chief operating officer for the California Republican Party.

In a statement, the California Republican Party Board of Directors said it has unanimously rescinded its endorsement of Mayes, which was granted after the lawmaker’s staff requested it on Oct. 22.

“Chad Mayes has let the Republican Party down just as he let down the voters of California,” the board wrote. “When he requested our endorsement just six weeks ago, our board was split but did so after a long discussion based on his loyalty to our party. Today’s decision (to rescind the endorsement) was quick and unanimous. We are confident that a Republican will win that seat in November.”

The party has just one day to find someone to run against Mayes.

This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 4:18 PM.