An interesting statement, considering that Rats swept every statewide office in your state in the last election. But keep that sense of optimism - its charming.
True conservatives don't always win either. Too many back-stabbing RINOs in the mix to sabotage the conservative candidate and say "see, I told you so" even though their favorites wouldn't have fared any better. Sometimes the truth isn't enough. Never underestimate the power of a good smear campaign, not just by Democrats, but also by RINOs.
Well-funded conservative candidates are better than RINO (e.g., Riordan) or milquetoast "moderate" (e.g., Fong) candidates because people need a reason to vote for them. Somebody with vision. Not a "me too" candidate. Not Democrat-lite.
So many people are sadly fooled by the "a far left Republican is always better than a conservative Republican when battling a Democrat" theory. Looks good on paper, but real-life experiences don't bear out that premise. Maybe in San Francisco or New York City where Republicans are a rare breed that may be the case, but California is still too diverse despite a voting registration advantage for the Democrats (there are tons of independents). But our job gets harder each year as conservatives abandon this state and illegals enter.
BTW, enough unnecessary pics por favor.