This comes as no surprise to Julie Vo, policy director for Orange County's Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance. Once again, the results of the elections weren't always very liberal, and Democrats lost ground in some places and won in others, but the general trend indicated that voters in Orange County were not leaning towards red. However, if this year's midterm legislature was unable to release a coherent statement from Orange County voters (or hasn't yet; the votes are still being counted), the raw election data does raise some clear questions about the state of the local electorate. Godwin also pointed out that in Orange County, Democrats tend to gain ground when the population grows, mainly because newcomers are usually young and immigrants, and that the opposite happens when the county's population remains stable.
In a nutshell, Orange County voters, a majority of whom are Democrats, seem to be rejecting Democrats, at least on the state ballot. Armenta said that, as an issue, abortion helped progressive candidates of all kinds, “particularly in places where they might have had it more difficult, such as Orange County. And I'm sure we'll find that that helps like-minded candidates go up and down the ballot”, said Robert Armenta, senior vice president of public affairs at Planned Parenthood in Orange and San Bernardino Counties. Democrats have made progress on city councils in the last two elections, have secured coveted seats in county congressional districts and could win a majority on the Orange County Board of Supervisors. That year's “blue wave” caused six Orange County Democrats to attend the House of Representatives.
Since the ballots are still being counted, the Orange County Voter Registry has not yet published how many votes each state candidate received in each electoral district. In addition, the numbers show that Orange County voters prefer Republican candidates for lieutenant governor, secretary of state, comptroller, treasurer, attorney general and insurance commissioner, in many cases with healthy margins. Orange County is actually home to the largest Vietnamese diaspora, which is the community of Vietnamese living outside of Vietnam. Vo said that for years, the Orange County vote has shied away from Republican candidates which has emboldened moderate Democrats and opened the door to even more progressive candidates. Make Orange County a safe, healthy and satisfying place to live, work and play today and for future generations by providing outstanding and cost-effective regional public services.
At least two members of the Orange County House of Representatives who oppose abortion - Young Kim (a Republican from La Habra) and Michelle Steel (a Republican from Seal Beach) - appear to be on track for re-election according to a recent vote count. The turnout in this election in Orange County was about 57%. It is clear from these results that there are some major political issues facing Orange County residents. These issues include immigration reform, abortion rights and access to quality public services.
It is important for residents to stay informed about these issues so they can make informed decisions when voting.
