(The Center Square) - California Republicans managed to flip a State Assembly seat with a nearly 14-point Democratic registration advantage.

Republican Jeff Gonzalez narrowly beat out Joey Acuña Jr. to fill the seat of Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, who opted not to run for re-election in the nearly 60% Hispanic district.

“I am honored that the voters have elected me to serve Assembly District 36 and believe in our mission of bipartisanship, lowering the cost of living, and turning the direction of our state around,” Gonzalez said in a victory statement.

Because he is a Republican, Gonzalez is not eligible to join the state’s Latino Caucus. Earlier this year, the Latino Caucus kicked out State Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil, R-Jackson, for switching from the Democratic to the Republican party.

“Democrats will not allow Jeff (a Marine Corp veteran) to join the Latino Caucus despite being Latino and representing a Latino district,” said Assemblyman Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin, on X. “It’s sad that the Caucuses have become tools of the majority party to simply defeat Republicans, rather than advance policies to improve lives.”

Gonzalez’ victory represents a major turnaround for the Republican party, which has struggled with Hispanic voters in California since the passage of Prop. 187 in 1994. Prop. 187 would have banned illegal immigrants from using non-emergency state services, but was ruled unconstitutional before it could take effect.

According to October polling from the Public Policy Institute of California, Latino voters were 75% more likely than white voters to say crime is the most important issue facing California, more than twice as likely to say homelessness, and one-third as likely to say the environment.

In terms of national politics, the same poll found Latino voters were 78% more likely than white voters to say the economy is the most important issue facing the United States.

The district, which stretches across the southeast corner of the state and borders Mexico, includes the Imperial Valley, a key national agricultural center, and El Centro, one of the nation's busiest border crossings.

Gonzalez, who served in the Marines for 21 years and is a pastor and owner of three small businesses, has won with a more than three point lead against Joey Acuña, a school board member, health clinic development manager, and grant writer for a local tribe.