Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum Start California Dreaming

California, here they come.

While the California Republican presidential primary is not until June 5, the Golden State is the largest electoral prize on the map and is bringing a whopping 172 delegates to the Republican convention in Tampa come August.

There are signs this week that the Republican presidential hopefuls are starting to focus on California.

A day after getting the support of House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy and businesswoman and 2010 Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina, on Tuesday Mitt Romney named freshman U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham as a co-chairman of his California team.

My support is growing in California because voters want a change of direction in Washington, said Romney. With the help of leaders like Congressman Denham, we can fix our economy, stop runaway spending, and restore Americas promise.

In the meantime, Romneys chief Republican rival Rick Santorum also has California on his mind. Hell be talking about health-care reform in Fairfield, Calif., on Thursday.

With Romney looking to get enough delegates to be nominated on the first ballot, it makes sense that he is pushing hard for California -- even if the primary is weeks down the road. But come November, the Republican candidate will probably be California dreaming. The state has gone for the Democrats in every presidential election since 1992. There had been decades full of Californians on the Republican presidential tickets -- Herbert Hoover in 1928 and 1932; Earl Warren in 1948; Richard Nixon in 1952, 1956, 1960, 1968 and 1972; and Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984. But these days, the Golden State and its 55 electoral college votes are solidly blue and behind Democratic presidential candidates in November.