"My recollection is that both States voted for The Great Ronald Reagan in 1980 and again in '84. What's happened since?"
My first vote was cast for Reagan. I have been voting for the republicans ever since in California.
Los Angeles County and the Bay area nearly dictate all here. The islands of Orange County and San Diego county, and some others are not enough to overcome the liberal masses concentrated in those areas.
These "liberal masses" voted for TGRR?