Although results will be filtering in for weeks, the Orange County registrar’s office has released preliminary results in this year’s hotly contested midterm election. With 1,916,5110 registered voters in Orange County, roughly 847,862 ballots had been counted in this high-stakes midterm election by 5 p.m. Wednesday. And while the final numbers will not be known until all ballots have been counted, early counts could indicate where key races will be headed in the coming days.
Some local voters casting ballots Tuesday shared their thoughts with the Daily Pilot on where their heads and hearts were at this election season. At Orange Coast College, for example, political science student Kevin McGowan offered words of encouragement to fellow students standing in line to vote at a campus polling center. A 19-year-old resident of Huntington Beach, who earlier this year published a political-themed fiction book for a senior project at Edison High, McGowan reflected on the divisiveness of politics today and his faith in the American electorate.
“I’m technically a Republican, but I voted for some Democrats,” he said. “I think honestly think more unity and more civility in politics, you just don’t see that in either party these days. I don’t want to just vote for my party. I want to vote for what’s right, for what the city needs now and what the country needs.” Here are the preliminary results for city council races and ballot measures in the Daily Pilot’s coverage area as of early Wednesday evening: Costa Mesa City Hall Tuesday was bustling with activity, as voters waited in long lines to cast ballots.
Among them was Kary Gallegos, 35, who came
Among them was Kary Gallegos, 35, who came to the polls with 16-month-old daughter Ariana and sister Barbara Gallegos. “Just voting with the blue wave,” she said of her support for Democratic candidates and desire to put an end to immigration raids impacting the city’s Latino community. “Hopefully, ICE stops doing what they’re doing. Too many people are getting hurt and families separated.” Nearby, resident Sue Lester dropped off her ballot directly at the vote center.
She paid special attention to local races and issues and is hoping the next Costa Mesa City Council is more bipartisan than the last. “Local government is the only chance the average citizen has to participate,” said 59-year-old Lester, who voted for one Republican and one Democrat to hold local office.“I’m sick of the pendulum swinging all the way to the right or left,” she said.
“I don’t just care about who agrees with me. I care about the greater good.” Eight candidates qualified to run after four officials termed out of office, leaving openings for mayor and in Districts 3, 4 and 5. As of Wednesday evening, the mayoral race was being led by Mike Buley, an attorney and conservative District 1 councilmember elected 2024, who had so far earned 13,259 votes, or 54.42% of the vote.
Trailing behind Buley was District 2 Councilmember Loren
Trailing behind Buley was District 2 Councilmember Loren Gameros, a Democrat and union worker who came to the dais in 2020 and as of Wednesday and had garnered 11,106 votes, or 45.58% support. Reached on Wednesday, Buley conveyed cautious optimism. “I’ve reached out to Loren and expressed my appreciation for the type of civil campaign we both ran and we look forward to continuing to work together on the council in the best interests of the Costa Mesa community,” he said.
The race to represent Council District 3 saw Daniel Morgan outperforming his opponent Cara Stewart with 50.63% of the vote, compared to Stewart’s 49.37%. In District 4, candidate Angely Andrade Vallarta was taking the lead Wednesday evening with 68.65% of the vote compared to challenger Fisher Derderian’s 31.35%. Kelly Brown, in District 5, was ahead with 55.7% backing from voters, while Steve Smith had secured 44.30%.
Costa Mesa residents were also asked to decide the fate of Measure C, which allows the city to update business license fees and charges that have been in place since 1985. Wednesday’s results show the initiative has 70.62% voter approval. City spokesperson Tony Dodero said officials were hopeful, as passage would help generate more revenue, saying, “If approved, Measure C will update the city’s business license tax structure and provide locally controlled funding for general city services.” Fountain Valley had three seats up for grabs on its five-person city council.
The city does not divide its representation into
The city does not divide its representation into districts, meaning the seats would be filled by the three at-large candidates receiving the most votes. Nine candidates ran for the local office this time around, with Councilman Patrick Harper opting not to seek a third term, guaranteeing at least one new face would be elected to serve. The newcomer, apparently, will be Dan Hay, the president and chief executive of Premier Girls Fastpitch.
Current mayor Jim Cunneen, with 7,754 votes, and Hay, with 7,621 votes, had each secured more than 20% of voters’ support. “I’ve spent my life serving nonprofit groups and youth sports organizations and scouting, and I just wanted to come and serve the town that I’ve lived in,” Hay said. “Do I think we’re going to make a difference over the next four years in making our city better?
Absolutely. “I think a lot of the things that we do in this town still seem to be tainted with a 1965 mentality, and this town is ready to see some massive growth over the next five years — with all of these high-density projects going in and quite a few other changes in town — and I think a businessman like myself can help guide us through those challenging times coming up.” Kim Constantine, first elected to the council in 2018, had secured 16.15% backing by Wednesday evening, while Elizabeth Andrade had garnered just 14.23% support.
Filing in behind them were John Nguyen (11.23%),
Filing in behind them were John Nguyen (11.23%), Patricia Neal (5.75%), Katy Wright (4.88%), Harrison Dibblee (3.42%) and Mark Leonard (3.34%). The Huntington Beach City Council race showed the progressive Surf City Four holding most of the top spots in first returns, but shifted toward the conservative incumbents during updates released late Tuesday night. Current Huntington Beach Mayor Casey McKeon held the top spot, with 12.73% of the vote and 28,899 ballots cast in his favor as of Wednesday evening.
He was followed by Pat Burns with 12.44%, and Andrew Gruel with 11.87%. “I’m grateful to every Huntington Beach voter who turned out,” said Gruel, a celebrity chef who was appointed to the council last year, in a text message. “There are still a lot of ballots left to count, so I’m waiting for the Registrar to finish before calling anything. Whether I’m on the council or serving as a resident, chef and small business owner, I’ll keep fighting for our police, our firefighters, our small businesses and every family in this city.” Surf City Four member Ben Davis was in position for the final available spot on the dais, with 11.43% of the votes tallied so far.
He was followed closely by slate-mate Erin Spivey (11.38%) and Brian Thienes, a planning commissioner who ran on a Team H.B. slate with McKeon and Burns, in fifth place with 11.38%. The final two members of the Surf City Four, Taryn Palumbo (11.2%) and Brenda Glim (10.39%), were in the seventh and eighth spots respectively, with Brian Burley, Rosalind Price and Amory Hanson lagging behind.
The mood was more joyous for the Democrats
The mood was more joyous for the Democrats earlier Tuesday night, as the Surf City Four attended a watch party at a private residence in the Brightwater community. “I woke up today not knowing [the results], and it’s not surprising to end the day not knowing,” said Spivey, a former librarian in Huntington Beach. “I’m really proud of the race we ran. We raised a lot of money, we knocked on literally thousands of doors, we sent mail, we did ads.
We did everything that could be expected of a good race, and I’m proud of the work we did, regardless of the outcome.” The seaside town appears to have sided with the status quo, as the three incumbents in the city council race took the early lead in their bid to return to the dais. Alex Rounaghi, who in 2022 became the youngest council member elected at the age of 25, was the frontrunner Wednesday evening with 22.41% of the vote, followed by Sue Kempf at 18.28% and current mayor Mark Orgill with 14.73%.
Kempf, who said she spent election night with Orgill, Rounaghi and supporters at the Lumberyard restaurant, felt the city’s response to local emergencies, particularly fire and coastal erosion, met with the approval of voters. “I think people appreciate our preparedness, because we do prepare quite well, and we do respond well,” said Kempf, who was seeking to win a third term.
I think people are starting to realize, particularly
“I think people are starting to realize, particularly with the climate, we have things that we have to tend to in this town. We have to be very vigilant, and we have to take good action.” Nick Aronoff led a pack of challengers, appearing on 12.56% of ballots counted, trailing Orgill by more than 500 votes. Ashley Cintas picked up 9.56% of the vote, Joy Berry brought in 9.05%, and Laura Parisi, the city treasurer, had received 7.65%.
Also in the contest were Karen Martin (4.03%) and Edward Bayuk (1.74%). The incumbents look to be headed back to the dais, but the clock could begin ticking with the passing of Measure E. It tasked voters with deciding whether to adopt a limit of two consecutive four-year terms for council members. Measure E received the support of 62.02% of the electorate, as of Wednesday evening.
Laguna Beach, as a whole, has around 18,097 registered voters, according to county election figures. “I think the argument that we made, pointing out the overwhelming advantages that incumbents have against newcomers, resonated [with voters],” said Michael Morris, who with former council member George Weiss co-founded NimbleGov, which petitioned to get Measure E on the ballot.
When the numbers started coming in for this
“When the numbers started coming in for this election, it just underscored how imbalanced the scales are against newcomers, when the incumbents were outraising them four to one, and then [political action committees] were jumping in and throwing in even more behind them.” An expensive election in Newport Beach over who will serve on City Council appears to be favoring incumbent candidates.
In all, four councilmembers sought reelection on Tuesday. District 4 Councilmember Robyn Grant faced no challenger and won reelection with 21,970 votes by Wednesday evening. Other incumbents took early, commanding leads over their opponents. Councilmember Erik Weigand, who represents District 3, emerged as the early leader in a three-way race with just shy of 60% of the vote. “I’m honored that Newport Beach voters recognized the hard work me and my colleagues have delivered over the past four years,” Weigand told The Pilot.
“I’m committed to ensuring Newport Beach remains safe and fiscally sound, while keeping as much local control as possible.” Walter Stahr, a retired attorney, historian and author, expected to be more competitive against Weigand, but found himself a distant second with just under 30% of the vote. “The incumbents in competitive races benefited from substantial sums of money coming from the Republican Party, police and fire unions, and these newly-formed, somewhat mysterious PACs,” Stahr told The Pilot.
These independent expenditure committees enabled a flood
“These independent expenditure committees enabled a flood of postcards and television ads touting the virtues of the incumbents, but also denigrating the challengers, particularly myself and Dr. Andy Gerkin.” Tim Stoaks finished third in the District 3 race with nearly 12% of ballots cast in his favor. District 1 Councilmember Joe Stapleton appears well on his way to defeating newcomer Tina Babajanians with more than 70% of the vote.
The sole competitive race by comparison pitted Mayor Lauren Kleiman, a Republican, against Gerken, the only Democrat in all the races. As of Wednesday evening, Kleiman had taken a 57% to 43% lead over Gerken. Aside from council races, Newport voters also weighed in on a ballot measure that proposed to amend the city’s housing plan to scale down the number of zoned units. Measure H could face a hill too steep to climb.
Newport voters appear headed to reject the ballot initiative with 67.28% of voters having opposed it by Wednesday evening. Newport Beach canceled a mail-in ballot special election originally scheduled Tuesday for three ballot measures despite a court order to administer the vote. It remains unclear when Newport voters will have an opportunity to decide on changes to their city charter on term limits, single-member district elections and expanded transparency measures.
