Did Carl DeMaio resign or lose party support after controversies involving him?
Executive summary
Carl DeMaio did not resign from public life after the recent controversies; he was elected to the California State Assembly and remains in office as of the 2024–2025 legislative term [1][2]. What did change is his standing inside his own party: multiple San Diego and state GOP actors publicly withheld endorsements, organized against him, and accused him of bullying, bribes and campaign-finance improprieties even as he kept fundraising and political operations running through Reform California [3][4][5][6].
1. How the “resignation” thread crept into coverage — and why that’s not about DeMaio
A line that appears on some biographical pages — “His resignation became effective January 13, 2020” — is present in snippets of internet summaries but refers to the resignation of another congressman in the context of a special election timeline rather than to DeMaio quitting office; primary reporting and official biographies show DeMaio continued running for office and later successfully ran for the State Assembly in 2024, assuming office December 2, 2024 [7][1][2].
2. He faced an organized intraparty revolt — evidence of lost local GOP support
In 2024 local party fights erupted into public conflict: county Republican leaders and a bipartisan coalition publicly urged voters not to support DeMaio, the county GOP held an unusual anti-DeMaio press conference, and internal Central Committee fights produced accusations that DeMaio tried to muscle party leaders and slate partners into changing endorsements — behavior that led many local Republicans to withhold support [3][4][5].
3. Specific allegations and formal complaints that fueled the backlash
Reporting shows DeMaio was accused by party insiders of pressuring and threatening a local GOP vice-chair candidate and of weaponizing his Reform California machine to back “rogue” candidates, which in turn prompted an FPPC complaint alleging potential illegal in-kind contributions and other campaign-finance irregularities; DeMaio and his team have called many of the complaints “baseless” even as critics cite patterns of behavior [4][5][6].
4. Despite the backlash, DeMaio converted fundraising into electoral success
Even as many Republican insiders opposed him, DeMaio’s political apparatus continued to raise large sums through Reform California and allied committees — significantly out-raising local GOP structures in 2024 — and he won the Assembly seat, demonstrating that institutional party ostracism did not translate into electoral defeat for him [8][6][1].
5. Two narratives: establishment GOP vs. outsider fundraising machine
Mainstream and longtime Republican officials portray DeMaio as a divisive figure who “doesn’t want to play by the same rules” and who prioritizes fundraising and self-promotion over party unity, while DeMaio and some allies argue that his insurgent tactics and Reform California operations are the necessary engine to challenge incumbents and entrenched interests; both narratives are reflected in local coverage and direct quotes from party figures and DeMaio critics/supporters [6][8][3].
6. Bottom line answer to the core question
No credible reporting in the provided sources shows Carl DeMaio resigning from elected office as a consequence of the controversies; rather, he experienced a substantial erosion of support among many Republican operatives and local leaders, faced formal complaints and public rebukes, yet persisted politically and won election to the California Assembly while maintaining his Reform California fundraising operation [1][5][8][6]. Sources show controversy and intra-party warfare, not a resignation or an outright expulsion from the party.