TAMPA, FL - AUGUST 28: Karl Rove, former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor to U.S. President George W. Bush, walks on the floor before the start of the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on August 28, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. Today is the first full session of the RNC after the start was delayed due to Tropical Storm Isaac. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - GOP strategist Karl Rove says California Republicans need to "get up off of the mat" and find new ways to reach voters if they are to regain popularity in the nation's most populous state.
Rove's speech Saturday at the state party convention referred to the party's recent deep losses in the state.
He says the state GOP needs to focus on larger themes of restoring jobs and reducing government spending, and that the party must recruit candidates who reflect the diversity of the country, and in particular California.
By next year, Hispanics will overtake whites as the state's largest demographic group.
Rove says that rebuilding would be "a big task," but noted Texas as an example. Once a Democratic stronghold, Texas elected Republicans to 95 of 150 state House seats.
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