Democrats were on track to keep their majority on the Orange County Board of Supervisors as of 5 p.m. Wednesday ballot counts from the county Registrar of Voters.
In the Fifth District that covers much of South Orange County, incumbent Supervisor Katrina Foley was in the lead with 51.6% of the vote against Republican Assemblywoman Diane Dixon with 48.3%, an over 6,000 vote gap.
In the Fourth District that stretches along the county’s northeastern edge, Democrat and Buena Park Mayor Connor Traut was in the lead with 50.3% of the vote, an 824-vote lead against Republican opponent Tim Shaw, who’s an OC Board of Education trustee.
OC Registrar of Voters Bob Page’s office
OC Registrar of Voters Bob Page’s office is slated to release the next round of ballot counts at 5 p.m. Thursday.
While both Traut and Foley were ahead in initial results released on Election Night, Shaw pulled ahead of Traut early Wednesday morning while Dixon tightened the gap between herself and Foley.
But Traut took the lead back after Wednesday evening’s updated ballot counts were released, while Foley maintained her lead over Dixon.
If Democrats lose either seat, the board will
If Democrats lose either seat, the board will once again hold a Republican majority as the winner takes their seat along with sitting Supervisors Don Wagner and Janet Nguyen.
While Foley’s district has a Republican voter registration advantage of around 20,000 voters, she’s won the seat in the past and a coalition of unions spent over $2.5 million advertising her candidacy.
In the 4th District, Democrats have an 11.1% voter registration over Republicans, and advertisers for Traut’s campaign, which also included a coalition of county unions, heavily outspent Shaw and his supporters.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.
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