Is Kern one of the last remaining Republican strongholds left in California?
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) - The votes from Tuesday night's primary election show that in a state increasingly turning a deeper shade of blue, Kern is staunchly red.
Celebratory cheers rang out in droves at the GOP watch party at Centro 18 Tuesday night. Kevin McCarthy, David Valadao, and Shannon Grove all saw overwhelming Republican support in the California Primary, no surprise to Republican voters in Kern County.
But what is surprising, a small majority of registered voters in Bakersfield are Democrats. And across California, for the first time Independents outnumber Republican voters.
The Senate race this November between Dianne Feinstein and Kevin de Leon will be Democrat vs Democrat.
And California's millennial voters are more likely to side with liberals, but even more likely not to vote, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
Low voter turnout is what's hurting Democrats in Kern County, who say they feel underrepresented locally.
"Kern is expected to vote red and based on yesterday's election that remains. However, the overall voter turnout was dismal and we are working to change that come November," Kimberly Kirchmer, president of the Democratic Women of Kern, said in a statement sent to Eyewitness News.
Meanwhile Republicans in Kern County maintain they aren't the state's underdog.
"We have a lot of impact in this area, and we have a lot of impact throughout the state, and I don't see that decreasing. It's going to grow," Ken Weil, chairman of the Kern County Republican Party said.
Come November, the Golden state's surest pocket of red will be counting on victories like Tuesday's to color California's political leadership.
"We're very happy and very thankful for what happened, and we think this is the beginning of the change," Weil said.
