"Being a Liberal from San Francisco Is Not a Negative Anymore. Being a Republican Is a Greater Liability"

"Most surprisingly, Cooley was beaten badly—by 14 points—in his home county, where he had won three district attorney races by landslides.
"Why couldn't Cooley carry L.A.? Spillane points out that local races, unlike state contests, are nonpartisan. Local candidates don't list party affiliations.
"'Cooley has been elected and reelected D.A. as an individual,' Spillane wrote. 'The moment the word "Republican" appeared on the ballot next to [his] name in heavily Democratic Los Angeles County, it was a huge anchor that dragged him down, exacerbated by the collapse of the GOP ticket in the final week of the campaign.'"

After the Democrats' election sweep in California, George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times proclaims the Republicans to be only a regional party in the state.