Palm Desert— Joy Miedecke, who runs the Coachella Valley’s largest Republican club, posted dozens of “No Proposition 50” signs on the lawn before Election Day.
But Tuesday morning, she knew the ballot measure would pass.
Proposition 50, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s challenge to President Trump, easily passed last week. The ballot measure, designed to level the playing field in Republican gerrymandering in Texas and other Republican states, reconfigures California’s congressional districts to favor Democrats as they try to take back U.S. House seats in next year’s midterm elections.
As a result, Coachella Valley Republicans may soon be represented in Washington by anti-Trump Democrats.
California Republicans, who are vastly outnumbered by those on the left, have felt ignored for years in a state dominated by Democrats, and the passage of Proposition 50 has only added to the sense of political despair.
“The Democrats are getting what they want because we don’t have enough people,” Midek said of Democrats’ struggles in California.
Bordered by the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains, this desert basin has long attracted conservative retirees and vacationers, including a former Republican president.
A cluster of palm trees illuminates the evening scene on Frank Sinatra Boulevard in Rancho Mirage.
(Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times)
The local hospital is named for President Eisenhower. President Ford enjoyed many verdant golf courses in his later years, and his wife, former first lady Betty Ford, established her namesake addiction treatment center in Desert Valley.
Voters in Indian Wells, parts of La Quinta and Mount Cahuilla backed Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Under Proposition 50, some or all of those districts would be moved to a congressional district led by Democrat Raul Ruiz, an emergency room doctor who grew up in the Coachella Valley, or joined with left-leaning San Diego County suburbs to form a new winding district designed specifically to support Democratic candidates.
Joy Miedecke of Indio is president of the East Valley Republican Women Patriots. She accused the California Republican Party of failing to provide adequate funding to oppose Proposition 50.
“The party is at the bottom,” said Midek, 80. “It’s at the bottom. We have nowhere to go but up.”
Sitting in her club’s retail store on Wednesday, Midek blamed the California Republican Party and its allies for failing to raise enough money to weaken Proposition 50’s anti-Trump message.
A life-size cardboard cutout of California Republican gubernatorial candidate and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco stood next to a pile of red MAGA hats and “Alcatraz” T-shirts. A cardboard cutout of President Reagan also greets visitors.
Volunteer Chris Mahr checks signatures on a petition at the East Valley Republican Women Patriots on Nov. 6 in Palm Desert. Republicans worry that passage of Proposition 50 will weaken the Coachella Valley’s representation.
In the days following the Nov. 4 special election, Republican voters in the Coachella Valley have been criticizing both the Republican Party and California’s Democratic leadership. In Facebook chat groups, bars and neighborhood walks, locals weighed in on the new congressional gerrymandering and the proxy battle between Trump and Newsom.
On Wednesday, gleaming Lincoln Navigators and Cadillac Cadillacs rolled down the main thoroughfare, past tidy green lawns, and disappeared into residential neighborhoods hidden behind sand-colored gates.
Kay Hillery, 89, who lives in the Indian Wells neighborhood known for its architecturally significant mid-century modern homes, was bracing for more bad news.
She expects it will be more difficult for Republican congressional candidates to raise money because the new districts marginalize Republicans.
“I’m ashamed that Republicans didn’t show up to the polls,” said Hillery, who moved to the desert from Acadia in 1989.
1. A ceramic statue of Trump is on display at the East Valley Republican Women Patriot store in Palm Desert. 2. Inside the “Just Marylou” hair salon, a Trump key chain hangs from a giant “God Bless America” button, next to which hangs a hair dryer and a Bible. 3. The “Just Marylou” hair salon is decorated with Republican posters and signs.
However, voters who supported Proposition 50 were energized.
“It’s important to take a stand when the need arises, and we as a state need to take a stand,” said Linda Blank, president of the Indian Wells Conservation Foundation.
Indian Wells is known for its premier tennis tournaments, top golf courses, and palm tree-lined roads. Eisenhower lived briefly in Indian Wells and is commemorated by a statue outside City Hall.
The heavily Republican city has for years hosted state Republican conventions and donor retreats organized by right-wing libertarians David Koch and Charles Koch. (David Koch died in 2019.)
Indian Wells will lose Republican Representative Ken Calvert after Tuesday’s election and become part of a new district that extends into San Diego County.
The district is represented by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall), but Democrats are trying to unseat him by expanding his district into bluer communities.
Michael Ford (left), Sonny Bono (center) and John Gardner Ford (Bono right) attend the third day of the 1976 Republican National Convention at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.
(Guy Delort/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Much of Riverside County’s desert region was once represented by Republican Congressman and singer Sonny Bono. After he died in a skiing accident in 1998, his wife, Mary Bono, a fellow Republican, ran for his seat and served in Congress until 2013.
The Coachella Valley is now a political patchwork, home to Democratic havens Palm Springs and Cathedral City and divided towns like Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert.
Today, the area is divided into congressional districts held by Calvert, a Republican, and Ruiz, a Democrat who live in faraway Corona.
Calvert announced last week that he would run in a new district in Orange and Riverside counties. The good news for Calvert is that it’s a heavily Republican district. The bad news is that Republican Rep. Young Kim of Anaheim Hills is also running in the district.
In an emailed statement, Calvert accused Newsom of disenfranchising Republicans across California — 5.7 million of the state’s 22.9 million voters.
“Conservatives should allow their voices to be heard and not be drowned out by partisan actions to advance a one-sided political agenda,” Calvert said. His office did not respond when asked about the congressman’s thoughts on Texas’ redistricting efforts.
Indian Wells Mayor Bruce Whitman said Calvert was instrumental in directing millions of dollars toward a cleanup project that would aid development.
An American flag flies in the El Paseo shopping district in Palm Desert on November 6. Republicans worry their influence in the Coachella Valley will be diminished by Proposition 50.
In 2017, in nearby liberal Palm Springs, city leaders passed a pro-immigration resolution and celebrated the formation of an all-LGBTQ+ city council.
Whitman said the political leadership in Indian Wells remains apolitical.
“National issues like sanctuary city resolutions or pro-Israel or Palestinian resolutions — that’s not our thing,” he said.
Tourists from Canada and Oregon mingled with silver-haired locals at the Nest Bar in Indian Wells on Wednesday night.
As Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” played, resident John, who is in his 60s and declined to give his last name, predicted the redistricting war would end with a “purge” between California and Texas.
“It’s just a game,” he said, sounding dismissive.
On Nov. 6, Sandra Schulz of Palm Desert, executive vice president of the East Valley Republican Women Patriots, stood in front of a wall in Palm Desert covered with photos and paintings of Trump.
Dan Schnur, who teaches political communication at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley, sees a different outcome. He said depriving the party’s last remaining conservative bastion of congressional representation would make the party less influential.
The California Republican Party has yet to do meaningful work across the state since then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has stepped down, Schnur said.
“They decided years ago that they were no longer seriously involved in national politics,” Schnur said. “If you’re a California Republican, you follow national politics and work on local races.”
Visitors look at Republican merchandise in the window of the East Valley Republican Women Patriot store on Nov. 6 in Palm Desert.
In 2007, then-Gov. Schwarzenegger spoke at the Republican state convention in Indian Wells and warned his fellow Republicans that they needed to move toward the political center and attract more moderates.
Schwarzenegger drew an analogy to the movie industry, telling attendees: “Our box office is dying. We can’t fill the seats.”
The former governor opposed Proposition 50 but limited his campaign with Republicans to defeat the bill.
Indian Wells resident Peter Rammer, 69, a retired technology executive, describes himself as a Republican who doesn’t always vote along party lines. He has grown increasingly frustrated with Democrats’ handling of California’s homeless population.
He voted against Proposition 50 but expects Democratic victories in New Jersey and Virginia to force Republicans to focus more on regional issues.
“I’m just unhappy with everything that’s going on in this country right now,” said Ramle, standing outside Indian Wells City Hall. “There’s so much unrest, it’s crazy. But Trump — the guy I voted for — created a lot of chaos.”
American flags adorn the El Paseo shopping district in Palm Desert, a staunchly Republican area that could be weakened by Proposition 50.
Back in Palm Desert, Midek, the Republican club president, is focused on his next campaign event: promoting a ballot measure from Assemblyman Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego).
California elections will require voter ID and proof of citizenship — another polarizing issue.
