California Republicans say they either haven't heard former President Donald Trump's statements on electric vehicles or that they generally stay out of federal politics. | Matt Rourke/APLOS ANGELES — Donald Trump thinks electric vehicles are anathema to the American Dream — he calls them union-busting job-killers that are “all made in China.
California Republicans often buck national trends as a dwindling minority in a deep-blue state. But their stance on EVs could give car companies and policymakers a template for how to broaden their appeal beyond coastal enclaves. To be sure, California Republicans don’t support all of the state’s EV policies. They’ve railed against a 2020 executive order from Newsom and regulations from state air quality officials that will require all new vehicles sold be zero-emission by 2035. But instead of letting that divide impede discussions, conservative leaders say they’re hoping to avoid polarizing the issue and are instead offering constructive criticism.
“We’re not the same kind of caucus as they are in Washington, Republicans, anyway,” Dixon said. “We’re the super-minority party, so we want to work across the aisle.”Some recent examples of bipartisanship: Republican Assemblymember Greg Wallis, who hails from Riverside County outside Los Angeles, is spearheading a proposal to extend the life of California’s expiring high occupancy vehicle lane benefits for clean air vehicles through 2027.
“I just want to say thank you so much for bringing this forward and I would love to be a co-author,” GOP Assemblymember Laura Davies, who represents parts of Orange and San Diego counties, told her Democratic counterpart Phil Ting during an April hearing on his incentives bill.
The solution to making EVs less political is to highlight their performance, according to Alexander Edwards, president of polling firm Strategic Visions, which conducts surveys on millions of new car buyers. He pointed to Tesla’s early success launching with a sports car in 2008, compared to the Nissan Leaf, which is considered a flop.