Several Orange County legislative races remain tight as the one-week mark post-Election Day approaches.
Of the five Senate seats before Orange County voters this year, the closest race remains for the 36th District, in which Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, continues to trail Democrat Chris Duncan, the former mayor of San Clemente.
The district spans Orange and Los Angeles counties and includes Cerritos, Garden Grove, Westminster, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and San Clemente.
As of Monday at 5:15 p.m., Duncan had received 50.9% of the vote to Strickland’s 49.1%, a lead of 6,535 votes, according to the latest preliminary results from the California secretary of state’s office.
A former Huntington Beach City Council member, Strickland
A former Huntington Beach City Council member, Strickland was tapped by voters in a 2025 special election to represent the district. He previously served in the legislature representing communities in the Santa Barbara area. In the Senate, Strickland serves as the vice-chair of both the Transportation and Labor, Public Employment and Retirement committees.
Duncan, who also served as a San Clemente councilmember, previously ran for the 74th Assembly District in 2024. Duncan spent more than 16 years as a federal prosecutor in U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Department of Justice, according to his candidate website.
Meanwhile, four Assembly races for Orange County districts remained close as well on Monday. Three of these races either have GOP incumbents or have long been held by Republicans.
In the Democrat-on-Democrat battle for Assembly District 68,
But in the Democrat-on-Democrat battle for Assembly District 68, just 2,583 votes separate Jessie Lopez and David Penaloza, who both serve on the Santa Ana City Council, as of Monday evening.
The district includes Anaheim, Orange and Santa Ana.
Lopez has so far received 51.3% of the vote to Penaloza’s 48.7%, according to the secretary of state’s office. They are vying for the Assembly seat left open by Avelino Valencia, who is running for Senate District 34 and, as of Monday, appears on track to win that race.
Meanwhile, Democrat Paula Swift has held onto a slim lead over Assemblymember Tri Ta, R-Westminster, in the race to represent Assembly District 70.
Ta is seeking his third term
Ta is seeking his third term in the Assembly after first being elected in 2022. Swift is a small business owner from Seal Beach. The district includes Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Garden Grove, Westminster and Fountain Valley.
As of Monday evening, Swift had so far received 51% of the vote, holding onto a lead of 2,749 votes to Ta’s 49%, according to the secretary of state’s office.
And in the race for the open Assembly District 72 seat, Republican Gracey Van Der Mark and Democrat Chris Kluwe remain locked in a tight contest for the district that includes Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Woods and Lake Forest.
Van Der Mark, who serves on the Huntington
Van Der Mark, who serves on the Huntington Beach City Council, has so far received 50.3% of the vote, a lead of 1,383 votes. Kluwe, an ex-NFL player turned small business owner and author, has received 49.7% so far, according to the secretary of state’s office as of Monday.
They are vying to replace Republican Diane Dixon, who is running for a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, and as of Monday evening, is trailing incumbent Katrina Foley.
Lastly, in the 74th Assembly District race, Assemblymember Laurie Davies, R-Laguna Niguel, continues to hold a slim lead over Democrat Sergio Farias, a San Juan Capistrano councilmember. The district spans Orange and San Diego counties and includes Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente.
Davies, who is seeking a fourth term in the Assembly, has so far received 50.4% of the vote, holding onto a lead of 1,225 votes. Farias has received 49.6% of the vote as of Monday evening, according to the secretary of state’s office.
