Illinois and California: parallel declines under one-party dominance | Opinion

Californians think they’ve cornered the market on one-party rule. But in my home state of Illinois, Democrats don’t just dominate, they’ve practically outlawed competition.

And what’s happening there should matter to Californians, because the political trajectories of both states look eerily similar.

Illinois gave America Abraham Lincoln, a Republican president who shaped the nation’s conscience. California gave America Ronald Reagan, a Republican president who redefined conservatism.

Today? Forget the presidency.

The GOP in both states can’t elect someone statewide, let alone find a candidate willing to try. The Land of Lincoln and the Golden State have become the lands of losing — a stunning collapse for the party of emancipation and limited government.

It wasn’t always this way.

Illinois and California have both elected more Republican governors than Democratic ones. Now, Democrats hold every statewide office and command supermajorities in both legislative chambers. In Springfield and Sacramento, they can pass any bill without a single GOP vote.

Sacramento, like Springfield, hums along with little meaningful opposition — and voters pay the price.

Back in Illinois, residents are packing U-Hauls faster than the state can count — roughly one every nine minutes. The state’s economy shrank by 2.2% earlier this year, marking one of the steepest drops in the nation.

Add a governor, J. B. Pritzker, whose approval rating recently slipped below 50%, and you’d think Republicans would be cleaning up.

Instead, they’re cleaning house on themselves.

The Illinois GOP has become a circular firing squad: grassroots activists vs. the “establishment,” conservatives vs. moderates.

Voters watching from the sidelines see a party more interested in self-immolation than solutions.

Californians might roll their eyes — until they look closer at home. Budget crises, homelessness and out-migration plague the state, yet meaningful debate is rare because there’s no competition to force it.

It’s not healthy in Sacramento, and it’s disastrous in Springfield.

Voters in both states are begging for change. But voters aren’t fools. Why hand power — or even a donation — to a party that can’t organize itself?

What’s happening in Illinois and California should be a warning to the country.

When a political party spends more time fighting internal wars than offering real solutions, it doesn’t just lose elections; it loses relevance.

And when its rivals face no competition, they lose accountability. The cycle ends with citizens who stop believing anyone is listening.

Illinois voters have handed Republicans talking points on a silver platter: sky-high taxes, corruption, an unpopular governor and an exodus of families. It’s the same for California voters.

In states where fiscal sanity should be an easy sell, both parties somehow can’t sell anything.

I still remember volunteering on campaigns in towns that once swung red but now barely turn out to vote. It’s not that people stopped caring; they stopped believing their vote mattered.

That loss of faith is far more dangerous than any one election defeat.

Next year, every statewide office will be on the ballot in both states. No one expects Republicans to win them all — or even one.

But a functional party should at least field credible candidates and give voters a choice.

This isn’t just bad for the GOP; it’s bad for democracy. States need opposition parties that work. Right now, Illinois and California both lack that.

If revival is possible, it starts with humility and a ceasefire.

States like Illinois and California don’t need a perfect Republican Party; they need one that functions. One that talks about issues, not enemies; that remembers elections are won by addition, not subtraction.

For two states that helped shape America’s political story, the bar shouldn’t be this low.

Jacob Lane was born and raised in Illinois and is a Republican strategist. He is a contributor for Young Voices whose work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune and The Hill.