Geez Louise, dude! Is your memory that bad or do you twist every piece of history into ideologically convenient pretzels?
Dan Lungren was seen as a up-and-comer in the conservative movement for years! He was supported by Jim Rogan and appeared on National Review's cover as the "The Great Right Hope"! He was likeable, articulate, and unapologetically anti-tax and pro-smaller government, and Davis spent the entire campaign flogging him for the GOP's signature views on abortion, education, and for Pete Wilson's record on immigration.
Ditto for Fong; he was a star of the flat-tax movement and Babs Boxer's attack ads on him repeatedly accused him of being anti-abortion.
Now if your theory holds, and the entire state of California knew unequivocally that they were conservative, they shoulda won in a cakewalk. Didn't happen, did it?! But all we were treated to was more revisionism that, well, he didn't really run as a Republican!
Christ, how many more Bret Schundlers is it gonna take to convince you people that conservatives can't win in left-wing states?!