MENDOTA, CA – On December 19, 2024, California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson announced Mendota Mayor Victor Martinez’s re-registration as a member of the Republican Party. Mayor Martinez, a former Democrat, joins the Republican Party following a growing surge in party registrations, including from several high-profile California Democrat party leaders and elected officials.

“It is time for Valley communities like Mendota to get the opportunity and real representation they deserve,” said Mayor Martinez. “Due to the extreme policies made by Sacramento politicians, such as CARB,  families in Mendota are not getting a fair shot at the American Dream. This last election showed our Valley is tired of that. Our Latino community wants better-paying jobs, lower prices, and safe streets. I am proudly working to bring that change as a member of the Republican Party.”

“It is an honor to welcome Mayor Martinez to the Republican Party,” said Chairwoman Patterson. “All across our state, local leaders, including those in the Latino community, are standing up and saying that Sacramento Democrats’ extreme policies are making life less affordable and less safe for all Californians. Republicans are offering commonsense solutions to California’s many problems, and I look forward to Mayor Martinez helping us move our state in the right direction.”

Born in El Salvador, Mayor Martinez worked as a farmworker in Fresno County, graduated from Fresno State, and gives back to the community as the Chief Business Officer for the Golden Plains Unified School District. Martinez was first elected to the City Council in 2016 and appointed as Mayor in 2022.

Since 2019, California Republicans have added more than 928,000 new Republicans to the voter rolls, as the party prioritized voter registration efforts across the state. Since the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans have registered more than 5.5 times as many new voters as Democrats have and 9.5 times as many new voters as No Party Preference has. In recent months, Republicans flipped the voter registration advantage to Republican in Congressional District 41, Congressional District 47, and Assembly District 74.