Election Results for Key Races in California’s Orange County

A woman casts her ballot for the 2020 US Elections at an official Orange County ballot drop-box at the Orange County Registrar's Office in Santa Ana, Calif., on Oct. 13, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

In the Nov. 8 General Election, out of about 22 million registered California voters, just over 10 million—or 46 percent—cast ballots, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s office.

Just over half of Orange County’s 1.8 million voters cast ballots in the 2022 General Election, per the county registrar.

The state has an estimated 1 million ballots left to count, and Orange County has about 23,000 left as of 5 p.m. on Nov. 18.

U.S. Senate

Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla is likely to retain his seat with 61 percent of the vote over Republican Mark Meuser, with 39 percent for the partial term vacated by then-Sen. Kamala Harris, which expires Jan. 3, 2023.

For the full term, Padilla leads Meuser’s 38.9 percent with 61.1 percent.

California unofficial election results as of 17:00, Nov. 18. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times)

U.S. Representatives

38th District: Democrat Linda Sanchez has a lead of 57.7 percent of the vote, compared to Republican Eric Ching with 42.3 percent.

40th District: Republican Young Kim leads with 56.9 percent of the vote over Democrat Asif Mahmood, with 43.1 percent.

45th District: Republican Michelle Steel has 52.6 percent of the vote against Democrat Jay Chen, who has 47.4 percent of the vote.

46th District: Democrat Lou Correa leads with 61.6 percent of the vote against Republican Christopher Gonzales with 38.4 percent.

47th District: In a close race, Democrat Katie Porter had 51.6 percent of the vote against Republican Scott Baugh, who received 48.4 percent.

49th District: In another close race, Democrat Mike Levin holds 52.6 percent of the vote over Republican Bryan Maryott, who has 47.4 percent.

California unofficial election results as of 17:00, Nov. 18. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times)

California Senate

30th District: Republican Mitch Clemmons trails with 39.6 percent of the vote against Democrat Bob Archuleta, who has 60.4 percent.

32nd District: Republican Kelly Seyarto is the likely winner with 62 percent of the vote compared to Democrat Brian Nash, who has 38 percent.

34th District: Democrat Tom Umberg is ahead with 58.6 percent of the vote against Republican Rhonda Shader, who has 41.4 percent.

36th District: Republican Janet Nguyen has 57 percent of the vote against Democrat Kim Carr, who has 43 percent.

38th District: Democrat Catherine Blakespear has 52.2 percent of the vote against Republican Matt Gunderson, who has 47.8 percent.

California unofficial election results as of 17:00, Nov. 18. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times)

California Assembly

59th District: Republican Phillip Chen has a commanding lead with 70.1 percent of the votes against Leon Sit, who has 29.9 percent.

64th District: Democrat Blanca Pacheco is ahead with 60.9 percent of the vote, while Republican Raul Ortiz Jr. has 39.1 percent.

67th District: Republican Soo Yoo has fallen behind in a tight race with 46.8 percent of the vote against Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva, who has 53.2 percent.

68th District: Democrat Avelino Valencia has 62.1 percent of the vote against Republican Mike Tardif, who has 37.9 percent.

70th District: Republican Tri Ta has 53.9 percent of the vote against Democrat Diedre Thu-Ha Nguyen, who has 46.1 percent.

71st District: Republican Matt Rahn has 48.8 percent of the vote in a close race against Republican Kate Sanchez, who has 51.2 percent.

72nd District: Republican Diane Dixon is ahead with 56.3 percent of the vote against Democrat Judie Mancuso, who has 43.7 percent.

73rd District: Democrat Cottie Petrie-Norris has 55.7 percent of the vote against Republican Steven Choi, who received 44.3 percent.

74th District: Republican Laurie Davis has 52.7 percent over Democrat Chris Duncan with 47.3 percent.

California unofficial election results as of 17:00, Nov. 18. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times)

Orange County Supervisors

2nd District: In a close race, Vicente Sarmiento has 51.59 percent of the vote against Kim Nguyen, who has 48.41 percent.

4th District: Incumbent Doug Chaffee leads with 55.47 percent of the vote, compared with Sunny Park, who has 44.53 percent.

5th District: Katrina Foley has a slight lead with 51.21 percent of the vote against Patricia Bates, who has 48.79 percent.

California unofficial election results as of 17:00, Nov. 18. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times)

Anaheim

Mayor: Ashleigh Aitken is leading with 42.85 percent of the vote over Trevor O’Neil with 34.51 percent. Also in the running are Lorri Galloway with 16.97 percent and Dick Lopez with just 5.67 percent.

District 2: Carlos Leon has 50.36 percent of the vote, while Gloria Ma’ae has 49.64 percent.

District 3: Natalie Rubalcava looks to be heading toward victory with 57.99 percent over her opponent Al Jabbar with 42.01 percent.

District 6: Natalie Meeks is winning with a landslide 70.83 percent over Hari Lal, who has 29.17 percent.

Irvine

Mayor: Incumbent Farrah Khan has a commanding lead of 37.71 percent of the vote over current runner-up Branda Lin with 27.56 percent. Also in the running are Simon Moon garnering 18.99 percent, Katherine Daigle with 9.17 percent, and Tom Chomyn with 6.57 percent.

City Council: Winning the race for two open seats are incumbent Larry Agran with 23.9 percent of the vote and Kathleen Treseder with 22.57 percent. Not far behind is incumbent Anthony Kuo with 21.01 percent, followed by John Park with 19.21 percent. Also in the running are Scott Hansen with 9.63 percent and Navid Sadigh with 3.69 percent.

Huntington Beach

City Council: Heading to victory is a conservative pact running for the four open seats. In the lead out of 18 candidates are Pat Burns with 13.6 percent, Tony Strickland with 13.44 percent, Gracey Van Der Mark with 12.35 percent, and Casey McKeon with 12.22 percent. The three current runner-ups are teachers Gina Clayton-Tarvin holding 7.89 percent, Jill Hardy with 7.58 percent, and Kenneth Inouye with 7.31 percent.

City Attorney: Winning his reelection is incumbent Michael Gates with 63.71 percent of the vote over Scott Field, who has 36.29 percent.

Costa Mesa

Mayor: Incumbent John Stephens has a lead of 54.48 percent over John Moorlach with 45.52 percent.

District 3: Incumbent Andrea Marr has a slight lead of 44.31 percent over John Thomas Patton with 42.77 percent. Also in the running is Jorge Miron with 12.93 percent.

District 4: With no opposition, incumbent Manuel Chavez is on his way to reelection.

District 5: Incumbent Arlis Reynolds has a lead of 63.58 percent over Robert Dickson, who has 36.42 percent.

Newport Beach

District 1: Joe Stapleton has a lead of 64.03 percent over Tom Miller with 35.97 percent.

District 3: Erik Weigand has 57.02 percent of the vote against Jim Mosher with 26.65 percent and Amy Peters with 16.32 percent.

District 4: With no opposition, incumbent Robyn Grant is on her way to reelection.

District 6: Lauren Kleiman has a lead of 55.09 percent over incumbent Joy Brenner with 44.91 percent.

Laguna Niguel

City Council: Stephanie Oddo and Ray Gennawey are in the lead for the city council’s two open seats in the at-large election with 23.8 percent and 21.72 percent of the vote, respectively.

Nipping at their heels is Stephanie Winstead with 20.34 percent, followed by Jeff von Waldburg with 17.18 percent, Javad Mokhbery with 9.92 percent, Melissa Caldwell garnering 6.24 percent, and lastly Randall Morton with 0.8 percent.

Capistrano Unified School District

Area 2: Michael Parham has 45.69 percent of the vote over Kira Davis with 40.92 percent. Behind them is Jessica Hubbard with 13.39 percent.

Area 4: Gary Pritchard has 49.36 percent of the vote against Jim Glantz, who has 41.81 percent. Darin Patel has 8.84 percent.

Area 7: Judy Bullockus is up by 54.4 percent over Jeanette Contreras, who has 45.6 percent.

Irvine Unified School District

Area 2: Katie McEwen has a lead of 66.19 percent of the vote over opponents Debra Kamm with 25.03 percent and Marlene Bronson with 8.77 percent.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District

Area 2: Michelle Murphy is on her way to victory with 59.83 percent of the vote over her opponent Danielle Mills, who has 40.17 percent.

Area 4: Lisa Pearson is the likely winner, garnering 56.91 percent of the vote against Barbara George with 34.09 percent and Kristen Nicole Valle with 9.01 percent.

Area 5: Incumbent Michelle Barto has 64.58 percent of the vote over Reina Shebesta with 35.42 percent.

Area 7: Incumbent Ashley Anderson has a major lead on her opponents with 58.8 percent, compared with Kristen Seaburn with 26.77 percent and Vicky Rodriguez with 14.44 percent.

Local Ballot Measures

G – Capistrano Unified School District SFID No. 3 Bond Measure: Losing 53.43 percent to 46.57 percent.

H – Santa Ana Unified School District Term Limits: Winning 87.29 percent to 12.71 percent.

I – City of Aliso Viejo, Councilor Term Limits: Winning 84.8 percent to 15.2 percent.

J – City of Anaheim, Anaheim Hotel Tax (TOT Measure): Winning 59.24 percent to 40.76 percent.

K – City of Costa Mesa, Ordinance to Revitalize Commercial and Industrial Areas and Protect Residential Neighborhoods: Losing 50.2 percent 49.8 percent.

L – City of Huntington Beach, Charter Amendment Measure 1: Losing 58.26 percent to 41.74 percent.

M – City of Huntington Beach, Charter Amendment Measure 2: Losing 60.97 percent to 39.03 percent.

N – City of Huntington Beach, Charter Amendment Measure 3: Winning 54.65 percent to 45.35 percent.

O – City of Huntington Beach, Taxation on Cannabis Businesses: YES votes at 54.24 percent and NO votes at 45.76 percent.

P – City of La Palma, La Palma City Services Measure: Winning 71.12 percent to 28.88 percent.

Q – City of Laguna Beach, Municipal Code Amendment to Create an Overlay Zoning District and Require Voter Approval of Major Development Projects: Losing 64.27 percent to 35.73 percent.

R – City of Laguna Beach, Municipal Code Amendment to Create a Hotel Development Overlay Zoning District and Require Voter Approval of Hotel Development Projects: Losing 70.07 percent to 29.93 percent.

S – City of Laguna Beach, Municipal Code Amendment to Create a Minimum Wage and Workplace Standards and Protections for Hotel Employees: Losing 67.89 percent to 32.11 percent

T – City of Laguna Woods, Cannabis Business Tax Ordinance: Winning 61.08 percent to 38.92 percent.

U – City of San Clemente, Appointive City Clerk: Winning 53.14 percent to 46.86 percent.

V – City of San Clemente, Appointive City Treasurer: Winning 50.82 percent to 49.18 percent.

W – City of Santa Ana, Santa Ana Business License Tax Equity and Flexible Tax Holiday: Winning 64.84 percent to 35.16 percent.

X – City of Santa Ana, Charter Amendments: Winning 75.45 percent to 24.55 percent.

Y – City of Westminster, No-Tax Increase Local Services Measure: Winning 70.08 percent to 29.92 percent.

Z – City of Yorba Linda, Housing Element Implementation General Plan Amendments and Rezoning: Losing 75.29 percent to 24.71 percent.