The Orange County Republican Party’s biggest challenge in upcoming elections might be navigating how President Donald Trump‘s influence shapes the local GOP’s appeal to voters.

With Trump in office, that might mean that the county — and even the state party — won’t have a distinct identity separate from Trump’s, said Jon Fleischman, a longtime Republican consultant.

“It’s going to be national politics that is the brand. For the next two election cycles, Donald Trump is going to define the Republican Party brand,” Fleischman, the party’s treasurer, said. “The job of the Orange County Republican Party on the marketing side is making sure that the policies that Trump is pursuing are being sold to our voters with the local perspective on them.”

But next year could pose a tough challenge in Orange County — midterm elections usually don’t favor the party in power. After 2024, Orange County Republicans are just one seat away from losing all congressional representation, and Trump remains generally unpopular in the county. Though he won’t appear on next year’s ballot, his influence over other down ballot races could be felt.

“The fate of how Republicans do in partisan races in Orange County is going to be greatly tied to the popularity of the president,” Fleischman said. “If somebody had Republican or Democrat next to their name, the average voter would think, ‘Trump or not Trump?’”

Several local leaders say the party’s overall success will depend on clear, issue-driven messaging and deepening connections in local communities.

“It’s clear to us that the issues we focus on in the local races are resonating with voters,” said Tustin Mayor Austin Lumbard, a member of the OC GOP’s executive committee. “Those are local conservative governance issues like public safety, lower taxes, getting the government out of the way and getting city hall out of your business.”

Fleischman agreed that the OC GOP’s best chance to make a tangible impact lies in local, nonpartisan races, like school boards and city councils.

“I know one of the agendas of Chairman Will O’Neill is to really get the party more engaged in local races,” he said. “A small mailer here, a precinct walk there for a high school district trustee, for example, makes all the difference. And so I think there’s an area where you focus on.”

O’Neill, the party’s new chair, said at his swearing-in last week that the party needs to “put more infrastructure around smaller down ballot candidates.” He said he is committed to having more “all-Republican city councils” and increasing the number of “Republican-majority city councils, school boards and water districts.”

“We are going to fight, fight, fight in every local race in Orange County,” he said.

Nationally, however, the party is falling short, Lumbard said, adding that the party needs to do a better job of making national issues — like border policy, national security and health care — feel relevant to voters by explaining how they directly impact their everyday lives.

“The core issue is really having credibility with the voters. And I think when voters understand that a person is part of their community … and they’re not just doing something for a title, but they actually care about the district or the area they’re going to be representing, that means a lot,” said Lumbard.

Former chair and party finance director Fred Whitaker said understanding why some voters split their tickets and show ideological inconsistencies is crucial to making gains.

In 2024, Orange County Republicans lost the 45th Congressional District (which also includes communities in Los Angeles County) to Democrats and couldn’t flip the 47th District.

“When you see somebody voting for Donald Trump and Dave Min, you think, ‘What is that person even thinking?’ We need to be able to get through the vote splitting, particularly among (no party preference voters),” Whitaker said.

Whitaker said that all of the polling in the congressional seats Republicans lost by narrow margins showed that voters who were not registered with a party were the key factor.

“There’s a ton of no party preference voters … explaining to those voters what the Republican brand is, and what the principles of the Republican Party stand on, is something we should really be focusing on,” Lumbard said.

They need to understand: “How is the Republican Party going to benefit my life? Why am I supporting this party? That’s sort of what I’m talking about,” he added.

Heading into Election Day last year, in 2024, voter registration in Orange County was 36.8% Democrat, 34% Republican and 23% with no party preference.

Some say the county party should focus on building stronger connections with the local Latino community to maintain the momentum gained last year.

“I know that in Orange County, we have a lot of Latinos, so we need more people that look like us and speak the language as well,” said Mayra Ruiz, sworn in as an alternate central committee member last week.

A Mexican American mother of seven, Ruiz said she hopes to see more bilingual Republican staff working to engage Latino voters, whom she believes are more aligned with Republican values.

“You need to understand that the community has been brainwashed to think that we’re all Democrats and that they want to help us. That’s not true,” she said.

“All the stuff that’s happening in schools … the school should not be in our kids’ lives at all, especially concerning their body. And abortion … that goes against my morals and religious beliefs,” said Ruiz. I’m for legal immigration and do not support noncitizens voting.”

Ruiz said she’s also looking for greater unity within the party as the 2026 election approaches.

“We can’t split ourselves up, and we have to go forward putting our message out,” Whitaker said.

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