California Republicans facing tough reelection fights in this year\u2019s midterm elections have lined up in support of President Trump\u2019s war on Iran, which polling suggests is not popular.<\/p>\n
They include Republicans whose chances of reelection were already diminished<\/a> by the passage by voters in November of Proposition 50<\/a>, which gave Democrats in Sacramento the authority to redraw the state\u2019s congressional districts in favor of Democratic candidates.<\/p>\n Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall), who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and has long criticized Iran, has defended the latest attacks as overdue and legal under existing authority the White House has for combating terrorism \u2014 which he said Iran is deeply involved in.<\/p>\n Asked Sunday by ABC News<\/a> about Trump\u2019s promises not to start new foreign wars during the 2024 campaign, and the attacks on Iran conflicting with that, Issa said the belief that Trump owes immediate answers about his intentions was \u201cfolly,\u201d that the attacks on Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities last summer had made people around the world \u201chappy,\u201d and that the latest attacks were a continuation of that effort.<\/p>\n He said Iran has funded terrorism for decades, expanding extremism around the region, and asking whether the Trump administration had a specific reason to attack now was the wrong question.<\/p>\n \u201cThe real question is, after nearly half a century, do we need a specific trigger, or do we at any time say enough is enough, we\u2019re going to take the claws and the teeth out of this tiger, and then see if in fact it\u2019s willing to drink milk rather than blood,\u201d Issa said. <\/p>\n Issa\u2019s district is one of five that Democrats reshaped to better favor a Democrat under Proposition 50. The measure was championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and others as a response to similar mid-decade redistricting efforts that Republicans undertook, at Trump\u2019s urging, to win favor in states such as Texas.<\/p>\n Whether the Republican candidates\u2019 backing of Trump in Iran will make them even more vulnerable is unclear. Some in California \u2014 including among the Iranian diaspora in Los Angeles<\/a> \u2014 have been pleased with Trump\u2019s actions and the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a conservative cleric who ruled the country with brutal force for decades.<\/p>\n However, several recent polls suggest the war is not popular. <\/p>\n According to a Reuters\/Ipsos poll<\/a> that closed Sunday, only 1 in 4 Americans approved of the U.S. strikes on Iran, while about half \u2014 including 1 in 4 Republicans \u2014 said they believed Trump is too willing to use military force. Overall, 43% of respondents said they disapproved of the strikes, 27% said they approved, and 29% said they were not sure.<\/p>\n A text poll by SSRS for CNN<\/a> on Saturday and Sunday found nearly 6 in 10 Americans said they opposed the decision to take military action against Iran. A separate text poll by SSRS for the Washington Post<\/a> found 52% of Americans opposed the strikes, and 39% supported them.<\/p>\n Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona) \u2014 who has long been hawkish on Iran, and accused the Biden administration of maintaining a weak policy on the Middle East nation \u2014 is another Republican in a redrawn district who has come out strongly in favor of the war effort.<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump\u2019s decision to launch Operation Epic Fury will protect America and our allies by eliminating the Iranian regime\u2019s ability to wage terror and threaten its enemies. It will also provide the Iranian people with a historic opportunity to shape their own future free from oppression,\u201d said Calvert, chair of the Defense Appropriations Committee, wrote on X Saturday. <\/p>\n Another member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee facing reelection in a redrawn district, Rep. Young Kim (R-Anaheim Hills), shared on Saturday a committee post on X that quoted Trump\u2019s announcement that Khamenei was dead and committee chair Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) stating that although President Biden had given Iran funding, \u201cPresident Trump gave him death.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday, she reposted video of a demonstration in favor of the attacks by Iranian Americans and others in Los Angeles, writing, \u201cSo grateful for our President\u2019s decisive action & for our vibrant Iranian American community. From Southern California to Tehran, let freedom ring!\u201d<\/p>\n Also facing redrawn districts and backing the war were Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) and Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin).<\/p>\n Valadao wrote Saturday on X that Iran had for years \u201cruled through fear at home and terror abroad,\u201d and that as \u201cthe world\u2019s leading state sponsor of terrorism, it continues to arm violent proxies, threaten our allies, and destabilize the region.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI commend President Trump for taking decisive action and pray for our brave men and women throughout the region working to keep us all safe,\u201d Valadao wrote.<\/p>\n Kiley, in an X post Sunday, wrote, \u201cIt is the longstanding policy of the United States that one of the most evil regimes in history cannot get its hands on the most powerful weapon in history. The decapitation of the Iranian regime and the destruction of its instruments of terror and death hold the potential for a safer America and a more peaceful world.\u201d<\/p>\n Kiley wrote that he looked forward \u201cto being briefed soon on the scale of operations, the strategy going forward, and any risks to American lives and interests that need to be met with urgency,\u201d and that Congress \u201cmust be centrally involved in defining and pursuing U.S. objectives going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Leading Democrats in California condemned the attacks \u2014 saying that although the Iranian government under Khamenei was corrupt and guilty of terrorism and violence, there was no evidence that it presented an \u201cimminent threat\u201d to the U.S. and no congressional authorization for Trump to commit the nation to war there unilaterally.<\/p>\n Many of the Democrats running in the state\u2019s redrawn congressional districts staked out a similar position. <\/p>\n