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The California Republican Party’s one-time finance director has accused several party officials of sexual harassment, gender-based discrimination, intentional infliction of distress, negligence and retaliation against a whistleblower, according to court documents.
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The accusation comes two months after Tiffany Qualls’ firing in June. Party officials said she violated a confidentiality agreement when she allegedly forwarded sensitive donor and fundraising information to her personal email addresses. The data does not include Social Security numbers, or card or account numbers. At the time of her hiring in February 2026, she was suing her previous employer, a Republican consulting firm in Nevada.
The California GOP said Qualls has resisted returning the data which led to the party filing suit in August. The party asked for a court order to force her to return or delete the data. That arbitration process is ongoing, which Qualls has asked a judge to pause while her counterclaim is considered. An emergency hearing is set for Tuesday, Oct. 8. Federal law allows employees to bypass arbitration if they can prove they experienced workplace sexual harassment or assault.
In a 33-page complaint filed in Sacramento County court, Qualls made several allegations against Chairwoman Corrin Rankin, Executive Director Scott Winn, spokesperson Matt Shupe along with other unnamed party officials.
Winn, Shupe and Rankin denied all the accusations in statements to The Sacramento Bee. And they accused her of disrespecting coworkers, shirking her job duties, and said the party received “multiple complaints” about her workplace conduct and failure to meet job standards.
Until her firing, Qualls said she received positive feedback on her performance throughout her four-month tenure.
Qualls, who did not immediately respond to an email or text message requesting comment, is representing herself in court. She is seeking an unspecified amount in damages exceeding $35,000 for mental pain and anguish, emotional distress, loss of earning capacity and other special damages. She has asked for a jury trial and for restoration of back pay and future lost earning potential.
John-Paul Deol, an attorney for the GOP, said Qualls had not raised any of her accusations internally until after the party fired her and attempted to recoup the pilfered donor information. He said her counterclaim was a ploy to derail the arbitration process.
“Unsubstantiated statements in a cross-complaint are not evidence. Filing claims does not excuse her refusal to return the party’s files or justify her actions,” Deol said.
‘Discounted, minimized or disregarded’ expertise
In her complaint, Qualls said she began to runinto issues trying to access intraparty budget materials and rectify when donors complained of being overcharged. She said she only obtained them after repeatedly asking Winn, Rankin and finance chair Ron Nehring.
In another instance, Qualls said she viewed evidence that the party had burned through millions of dollars in a six-month period, going from $11 million in cash on hand in November 2025 to less than $600,000 in May 2026.
Qualls said Winn rebuffed her attempts to set up a plan of action, telling her “he didn’t have time for this,” and rejected her ideas for a joint fundraising agreement with Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton by asking “if I gave you a budget, could you do it?” Qualls said she took “immense” offense to the remark.
She said Winn and Rankin ignored her attempts to collaborate on a plan to shore up the GOP’s internal finances as the state party’s fundraising relationships have frayed with some of its county counterparts. Qualls said in court documents she was fired when she tried to discuss it with them and other party officials.
Qualls also said Winn often encouraged her to defer to a younger, male staffer for fundraising strategy and “discounted, minimized, or disregarded Qualls’ professional expertise while affording greater attention, credibility and access to male employees and affiliates.”
“Her filing presents a misleading account of her employment and falsely portrays legitimate management decisions as discrimination and retaliation,” Winn said.
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‘I just don’t know why she dresses so slutty’
Qualls said Rankin took issue when she asked clarifying questions and repeatedly used the word “bitch” to describe other GOP staffers and Assembly Republican Leader Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare, in the office. Qualls in her countersuit said Rankin said Macedo “dressed like a hooker” for wearing boots and a skirt when the two observed the lawmaker walking to a legislative event.
“What? I just don’t know why she dresses so slutty. She’s an attorney,” Rankin reportedly said. Qualls said she objected to Rankin’s remarks.
Rankin denied the account in a statement.
“The woman described (in the complaint) is a caricature and the people who have worked beside me for years would not recognize it. I have never spoken about women, or about anyone, the way this filing claims I did,” Rankin said. “I set high standards. I hold people accountable. I do not lead by insult, and I will not let an unsubstantiated court filing rewrite who I am.”
Qualls also said she witnessed Rankin on one occasion make “rude” and “demeaning” remarks to her executive assistant, Adrienne Coryell, while the two planned for Rankin to take a flight to Southern California in early June 2026.
Qualls said Rankin told Coryell, “No, that won’t work. Don’t you get it? I need you to understand,” which she said “communicated hostility and disrespect toward (Coryell) in the workplace.”
Coryell also denied Qualls’ claim and defended Rankin in a statement.
“The allegations in this lawsuit do not reflect my experience of the California Republican Party, the inner workings of our office, or what it is like to work under our Chairwoman Corrin Rankin and COO Scott Winn,” Coryell said. “What I have experienced so far has been overwhelmingly positive, and I believe our positive office culture is an important part of what makes this team effective. This characterization of our workplace is simply not consistent with my experience working here.”
Qualls said Shupe first pursued a “platonic personal relationship” with her after she joined the GOP staff. They then had a meeting on May 9 on the shared terrace of the building where they both lived, during which Qualls said in filings the two acknowledged they were not in a romantic relationship despite Shupe “acting as though they were dating” — which he denied.
“Ms. Qualls’ own filing describes our relationship as platonic. It was. Ms. Qualls is a serial litigant who has now sued two former employers,” Shupe said in his statement. “She asked me to speak to her on the communal terrace, which I agreed to do, where I then rejected her desire to be more than friends.”
Shupe said Qualls moved into his building after learning where he lived and showed up at his apartment uninvited with an empty wine glass which he called “odd” and “unnerving.” Shupe also said she slipped a handwritten note under his door on May 10, the day after he rejected her attempts to pursue a romantic relationship with him.
Qualls said she sent him the note to remind him “to maintain professional boundaries in their working relationship.” In court documents, Qualls said after that, “Shupe became uncooperative on work matters” and “created communication barriers.”
“She is a disgruntled former employee who was fired,” Shupe said. “I never pursued a romantic or sexual relationship with her. Her accusations against me are false. My attorney will ask the court to dismiss these claims.”
Prior litigation
Qualls made similar accusations against her previous employer, McShane LLC, a Nevada Republican consulting firm. She claimed in an ongoing lawsuit filed last December that the executive there subjected her to racial discrimination as a Black woman and retaliated by firing her when she complained.
Sacramento Judge Christopher Krueger previously scheduled an Oct. 8 hearing for a motion to compel arbitration in the California GOP’s case against Qualls and another hearing for a motion on a preliminary injunction is set for April 2027.
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