Democratic candidates in two House races in Orange County increased their leads while a third made a dent in the Republican incumbent’s edge, according to the latest vote tallies released Monday evening.
In the race for California’s 45th congressional district, the latest count shows Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Seal Beach, leading Democratic attorney Derek Tran in a race that’s still too close to call. Steel holds 50.7% of the vote, though Tran has narrowed the deficit from 7,590 votes last week to about 4,000 votes on Monday.
In California’s 47th congressional district, which covers much of Orange County’s coast, state Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, is maintaining a slim lead over former Assemblymember Scott Baugh, a Huntington Beach Republican. While the Irvine Democrat holds 50.52% of the vote, the latest count shows Min’s lead slowly widening. A little more than 3,000 votes separate the two candidates in one of the country’s most closely watched House races.
Meanwhile, in CA-49, which covers part of south Orange County and a swath of northern San Diego County, Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, holds 52% of the vote, ahead of businessman Matt Gunderson, a Republican from Ladera Ranch. The count, provided by the secretary of state, shows that Levin has increased his lead in recent days, and, as of Monday, more than 14,000 votes separated the two.
National attention has turned to all three races, particularly in recent days as the battle over which party will control the House of Representatives remains the last question from the election. Republicans already have control over the White House and U.S. Senate.
There are still more votes to be counted. In Orange County alone, the registrar estimates it has more than 173,000 ballots left to process as of Monday.
In Orange County, the 38th, 40th and 46th congressional districts have already been called for the incumbents.
Registrars get bomb threats
Several county elections offices, including Orange County’s registrar of voters, received emailed bomb threats on Friday, Nov. 8.
Staff and members of the public who were watching ballots being tallied were evacuated from the Santa Ana building at about 6:45 p.m., before ballot processing was set to end for the day, Bob Page, the registrar of voters said. Bomb detection dogs were used to conduct a search of the building, and no explosives were discovered, according to the registrar.
Two deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department remained at the registrar’s office in Santa Ana overnight to protect the ballots, as is protocol during ballot counting, Page said.
Vote counting resumed on Saturday, and Page said fewer employees called out of work than a typical Saturday. One employee, not scheduled to work, also came in to help, he said.
“Every day I am amazed by this team,” said Page. “Their commitment to each other, to the integrity of our election, and to ensuring every voter’s ballot is processed is unrivaled.”
The FBI is investigating the bomb threat received by Orange County’s elections office and others, Page said. A spokesperson for the Justice Department was not immediately available Monday afternoon.
Riverside and Los Angeles counties’ elections officials also reported threats. Multiple Maryland elections offices received bomb threats on Friday as well, according to local news reports.
Leave a Reply