VOTERS in West Orange County are changing the political lineups
Three wake-ups after Election Day, some local races that were nip-and-tuck are turning into almost-settled.
City councils in Garden Grove and Westminster appear to be going through some potentially significant changes, and the area’s delegation to the state legislature is about to be remade as well.
According to the latest tallies from the Orange County Registrar of Voters on Friday evening:
• In Garden Grove, incumbent mayor Stephanie Klopfestein won a second term, garnering almost 54 percent of the vote. But incumbent Councilmember Joe DoVinh lost his seat as the District 4 representative, finishing third behind the winner – Hieu Nguyen – and former council member Phat Bui.
• In Westminster, Councilmember Carlos Manzo is widening
• In Westminster, Councilmember Carlos Manzo is widening his lead over incumbent mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen by 1,100 votes. Another big change is David Johnson’s victory for the District 1 seat, defeating incumbent Amy Phan Nguyen.
• The race for the 36th District State Senate seat is headed to another rough result for an incumbent, Tony Strickland, a former Huntington Beach mayor and council member. The latest tallies show Strickland, a Republican, trailing the Democrat Chris Duncan by over 10,000 votes.
• In the 70th State Assembly District, incumbent Tri Ta, a Republican, was trailing by over 5,000 votes to Paula Swift, a Democrat. In the 72nd Assembly District, Republican Gracey Van Der Mark – a Huntington Beach City Council member – is leading Chris Duncan, a Democrat, by a little over 100 votes.
• In Huntington Beach, three of the winners in the city council race – for four seats – that won were incumbents that identified as among the “MAGA Four,”aligned with President Donald Trump, guaranteeing that group’s control of the council for at least two more year
For complete and up-to-date returns, go to http://www.ocvote.com.
