When Jessica Millan Patterson first ran to lead California Republicans, there was hesitation from some folks.
Some of that doubt arose from the fact that no woman — especially someone as young as Patterson — had held the seat prior.
Patterson, 42, has risen through the ranks within the state Republican party, starting as an intern and serving as the chief executive of California Trailblazers, the state party’s year-round candidate training program, before leading the California Republican Party.
And she’s quickly emerging as a national GOP figure, from efforts to get Republican voters to cast their ballots early to her work bringing presidential candidates to Anaheim for the CAGOP’s fall convention.
In 2019, Patterson, who hails from Southern California, ran against a former Assemblymember and a longtime party activist, both men, in a bid to lead the state party.
“All of the chairs in the past have been men, some who were elected to office before,” said Randall Avila, executive director of the Orange County Republican Party and Patterson’s friend. “Some folks thought, ‘Could a staffer be the chair?’”
But Patterson comfortably won the election to the California Republican Party chair in February 2019 with over 54%, defeating former Assemblymember Travis Allen of Huntington Beach and party activist Steve Frank.
Patterson’s ascent to the top of the state party was significant in numerous ways. She was the first woman, the first Latina and the first millennial to helm the CAGOP — taking over while it was on the verge of collapse after state Democrats crushed state Republicans in the 2018 midterm elections, defeating incumbents Jeff Denham, David Valadao, Steve Knight, Mimi Walters and Dana Rohrabacher in congressional races.
That year, Orange County voters did not elect a single Republican to represent them in Congress.
Elected just a few months after those 2018 midterm elections, Patterson has “proven herself and…
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