Don’t Sleep on the CA Lieutenant Governor’s Race

California Republicans know the score: one-party Democratic rule has turned the Golden State into a cautionary tale. Crushing taxes driving businesses and families to flee. Homeless encampments swallowing neighborhoods. Soft-on-crime policies that reward repeat offenders while victims suffer. Failing schools indoctrinating kids instead of teaching them. And Sacramento insiders spending billions with zero accountability.

With Democrats holding a supermajority in the Legislature and every constitutional office, the state desperately needs brakes on this runaway machine. Yet too many conservatives dismiss the Lieutenant Governor’s race as irrelevant—“just a ceremonial post,” they say. That mindset is a gift to the Democrats.

The truth is, the Lieutenant Governor is no powerless figurehead. It’s the second-highest executive office in California. When the Governor is out of state (which happens constantly), the Lt. Governor becomes Acting Governor with full authority to sign or veto bills, issue orders, and manage crises. Should the Governor’s office become vacant, the Lt. Governor steps in immediately. They also serve as President of the State Senate, where they can cast the decisive tie-breaking vote.

Even more valuable are the powerful boards the Lt. Governor sits on: the University of California Regents, California State University Trustees, Community Colleges Board of Governors, and the State Lands Commission that oversees vast public lands, coastal resources, and billions in state assets.

In a state where every other major office is locked down by Democrats, a strong Lt. Governor becomes one of the few realistic checks on the progressive agenda. This isn’t about symbolism. It’s about leverage—real institutional power that can slow the damage and create openings for future conservative gains.

That’s why smart Republicans shouldn’t automatically write off an independent candidate like Sean Collinson. In deep-blue California, the path to breaking Democratic dominance sometimes requires strategic alliances that put results over party labels. Collinson is running with No Party Preference, but his record and priorities align far more with common-sense conservative values than with the Sacramento Democrat machine.

A professional mediator and trained hostage negotiator, Collinson has spent decades resolving high-stakes conflicts by focusing on practical solutions rather than ideology. Raised by a single mother, he understands the real struggles of working families crushed by California’s cost-of-living crisis. He’s not another career politician looking for his next rung on the ladder.

His platform targets the issues that matter most to Republicans and independents alike: lowering the cost of living so families can afford to stay here; demanding accountability and results from our failing education system; ending the revolving-door criminal justice policies that endanger our communities; holding cities accountable on homelessness instead of throwing good money after bad; fixing infrastructure without endless tax hikes; and bringing transparency to Sacramento’s wasteful spending.

Republicans don’t have to love the “No Party Preference” label to recognize strategic value. In this race, voting for Collinson isn’t a compromise—it’s a calculated move to deny another Democrat a seat at the table and install someone who will actually use the office’s powers as a brake on one-party rule. A Collinson victory plants an independent voice with real authority on key boards and in the Senate, creating friction where Democrats currently face none.

This isn’t about abandoning Republican principles. It’s about being smart in a state where Democrats have rigged the game. If we keep treating every race as an all-or-nothing purity test, we’ll keep losing everything. Sometimes the smartest play is to support the candidate best positioned to disrupt the monopoly—even if he’s not carrying an “R” next to his name.

California Republicans have been waiting for an opening to fight back. The Lieutenant Governor’s race is one. Don’t sleep on it.