Marin Republicans face an uphill struggle to become relevant again in local politics.

With its share of local voter registration weighing in at less than 13% and its local leadership in turmoil, the Marin GOP is far from a political force.

Its leadership has long been far right of Marin’s liberal political leanings, but in the 2024 election it voted in a new majority that’s taking on a hard turn even further right.

The new majority has elected new leadership, activists that had joined President Donald Trump’s rejoin of questioning the validity of our elections, except for those that Trump has won.

Their focus led to some being removed from the party’s central committee, only to be elected back to the panel with enough of a majority to gain revenge and oust those leaders who had bounced them.

Before the election, the central committee had numerous vacancies. The election-doubting faction filled those voids.

It’s hardly a strong foundation on which to turn around a party that’s seen its local registration dwindle.

The local party’s leadership needs to be aware that during March 2024, one-third of its local voters supported Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who challenged Trump’s bid to win back the White House.

In November, Trump won only 16.7% of Marin’s vote. That’s better than the GOP’s registration, but far short of the 80.5% that voted for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who beat her party’s registration by nearly 40%.

The local GOP’s low registration in Marin is not encouraging for potential Republican candidates. The disparity in registration hampers candidates’ fundraising.

In fact, Novato businessman Andrew Podshadley, the Republican’s 2024 candidate for state Assembly, says if he runs for office again, it will be as an independent, not a Republican.

“Marin’s GOP central committee is now super far right,” he told the IJ.

Longstanding party leaders Jack Wilkinson and Tom Montgomery were not only replaced, but they have resigned from the central committee.

The local party’s new chairman, on Marin GOP’s website, said: “I look forward to informing you of the exciting things we have planned to restore the GOP to a true opposition party in our county.”

“We want people to hear from us what we think about issues instead of letting Democrats define us,” said Francis Drouilliard, a leader in last year’s lawsuit that alleged the county and the state had failed to remove ineligible voters from registration rolls.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled against the lawsuit, saying the plaintiffs had failed to show the election process “is fundamentally unfair.”

Marin Republicans should have a relevant voice in local politics.

Even if its numbers reflect a distinct minority of the county’s voters, the GOP — and any political party — is a stakeholder. The question is what does the voice of the local party represent — the breadth or a faction of Marin Republicans.

The party also should encourage and support candidates for partisan offices.

That’s going to be easier said than done unless local party leaders can find an effective way to build confidence across the various strata among local Republicans who are interested in running.

Right now, it’s a very steep climb for any Republican to build a winning campaign in Marin.

The local party’s recent power play, takeover and dueling lawsuits between Marin GOP factions do not seem like parts of a strong game plan for reaching that goal.