California Republicans sad the state's primary won't be competitive after all

When Ted Cruz announced Tuesday night he was dropping out of the presidential race, he dashed the dreams of Republicans in California who hoped the state would finally play a major role in the primaries.

California's Republican and Democratic primaries are on June 7, and with Cruz, Donald Trump, and John Kasich still fighting for the GOP nomination and delegates awarded based on congressional districts, it looked like enough of a race was still going on that California voters could make a difference. Now, only Trump and Kasich remain, and Kasich is far behind the frontrunner.

"We were so close to being relevant," Mike Madrid, a California Republican consultant, told the Los Angeles Times. Madrid had been working on a big project, gathering data to show the impact different ethnic groups across the state could have in the primary. Now, he doesn't think anyone will care. "It's a bit deflating," he said.

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