California GOP activist ousted after rape comments

The leader of a conservative faction within the California Republican Party has been ousted after dismissing pregnancy as a risk from rape in comments earlier this year.

The San Jose Mercury News reports the California Republican Assembly voted to unseat Celeste Greig as president in an 84-78 vote at its convention. She was replaced by John Briscoe, a 63-year-old accountant from Fountain Valley.

In March Greig stirred controversy after telling the Mercury News that pregnancies by rape are rare because a woman’s body is traumatized by the violence, recalling remarks that derailed Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin’s campaign last year.

Briscoe’s campaign manager, Aaron Park, tells the newspaper that Greig’s comments were “embarrassing” and led to a collapse of her support by CRA members.