Thanks, Willie, But It Didn't Work

Former SF-Mayor and Assembly Speaker Willie Brown has advice for Republicans. (Appreciate that his tone is not snarky or insincere, as is much of the "advice" given by partisans to their opponents.) [bold added]

Willie Brown (OC Register)

It’s clear that Republicans’ slip in California relevance has turned into an all-out slide. The midterm results show that Republicans are being hurt as young adults and other progressively inclined people fan out from the Bay Area and Los Angeles into onetime GOP territory like Orange County and Central Valley cities.

Add in the toxicity of President Trump, and you have a party that is clearly in need of major retooling if it ever again hopes to be a factor on the state level.

Republicans could start by getting rid of the Tea Party and Freedom Caucus types who have made the GOP platform so distasteful to new voters.

But if they really want to make a comeback, the GOP should turn the party over to women. Not only would they give the party a better public face, they would inject a better balance on social issues.

Well, the Republicans did try the woman strategy; they had a textbook candidate in Korean-American Young Kim:

Young Kim (CNN)

Kim was considered by many to have an edge going into the race because of her name recognition and long history as a district staffer for [ex-Representative Ed] Royce, who had endorsed her....Kim broke with Trump on several of his policies, including family separation at the border and curtailing family-sponsored visas. Nearly a third of the district’s residents are Asian American, and a third are Latino.

If ever there was a seat that Republicans should have taken it was the seat held by Ed Royce(R) in the formerly conservative bastion of Orange County.

Democrat Gil Cisneros was the eventual winner, overcoming Young Kim's lead with provisional and mail-in ballots days after the election.