James L. Brulte (born April 13, 1956) is an American politician and former chairman of the

California Republican Party The California Republican Party (CAGOP) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in the U.S. state of California. The party is based in Sacramento and is led by chair Jessica Millan Patterson. As of October 2020, Republicans repre ...

, having served from March 3, 2013 to February 24, 2019. Brulte formerly served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

in the California State Senate, representing the 31st district, from 1996 to 2004. He also served as the Senate Republican leader from 2000 to 2004. Brulte also served as Vice-Chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee. He was previously the Republican Leader of the California State Assembly from 1992 to 1996. Brulte is the only freshman to ever serve as a party leader in both houses of the California State Legislature.

Early life and education

Brulte served in the California Air National Guard and was chosen as "Outstanding Airman of the Year" for the United States and its territories. He graduated from

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona, CPP, or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo. See the ''California State Polytechnic University, Pomo ...

(Cal Poly Pomona). Brulte is married to the former Superintendent of

Capistrano Unified School District Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) is the largest school district in Orange County, California, United States. It is the 8th largest district in the state and the 78th largest in the country. The district currently has 54,036 students an ...

, Kirsten Vital Brulte.

Political career

He was elected to the Assembly in 1990 to represent

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

's 65th District and was re-elected from the 63rd District in 1992 and 1994. In 1995 as the majority leader in the Assembly, Brulte was unable to prevent a democrat from being elected Speaker of the Assembly. When

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

s forced Brulte out of the Assembly, voters elected him to the State Senate in 1996 with 58% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2000 with 59% of the vote. Brulte retired from the Senate in 2004 due to term limits. Brulte considered running for the State Board of Equalization in 2006; however, he decided not to run against Michelle Steel, the eventual victor. Following the 2010 and 2012 election results in California, Brulte was widely encouraged to run for the chairmanship of the California Republican Party and was elected chairman on March 3, 2013. Coincidentally, Brulte was born in Glen Cove, New York as was his predecessor, Tom Del Beccaro. Although out of office for almost 2 decades, in 2022 Brulte partnered with former California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner to bring the medical community and the legal community together to craft a legislative solution to end the decades long medical malpractice wars. They compromise was enacted into law by the legislature and resulted in eliminating the need for an already qualified ballot initiative. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-06-07/california-lawmakers-ballot-measures-propositions

References

External links

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Join California Jim Brulte
, - , - , - , - , - , - 1956 births 21st-century American politicians California National Guard personnel California Republican Party chairs California State Polytechnic University, Pomona alumni Republican Party California state senators Living people Republican Party members of the California State Assembly People from Ontario, California Politicians from Glen Cove, New York Republican National Committee members 20th-century American politicians {{California-CASenate-stub