Last November, the Democratic Party gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives after eight years in opposition, and the historically Republican stronghold of Orange County, California unexpectedly gained national attention.
Four out of seven House seats that flipped from Republican to Democrat occurred in Orange County, and five state Assembly seats also flipped, shrinking the already small Republican delegation in California from 25 to 20 in the 80-seat legislature. To make matters worse for Republicans, in early 2019, State Assemblyman Brian Maienschein quit the Republican Party and joined the Democrats, shrinking the size of the GOP delegation to 19.
