Republicans are in a series of tight races to hang onto their seats along Orange County’s coast against Democrat challengers who weren’t far behind in the latest rounds of ballot tallies Wednesday night.
According to the OC and LA Registrar of Voters, Democrat Chris Duncan was leading in the race for the 36th State Senate District that covers Orange County’s coast with just over 50% of the vote as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, with incumbent Republican Senator Tony Strickland in second place, 1,660 votes behind him.
In the 72nd Assembly District, which covers much of the same area, Republican Huntington Beach Councilwoman Gracey Van Der Mark was leading with nearly 51% of the vote against Democrat Chris Kluwe with 49% of the vote – an over 2,700-vote gap that has increased since Election Night.
Four seats are currently up for grabs
Four seats are currently up for grabs on the Huntington Beach City Council, with Republican Mayor Casey McKeon, Republican Councilman Pat Burns, Republican Councilman Andrew Gruel, and Democrat-endorsed challenger Ben Davis currently on track to win, with Republican Brian Thienes in fifth place – 100 votes behind Davis as of Wednesday night.
Democrats were leading in races for the senate, assembly and Huntington Beach City Council in initial results on Election Night, despite all of those races either holding Republican incumbents, having a Republican advantage in voter registration or both.
But that shifted by 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, when Republicans managed to eke out a narrow lead.
It’s a sharp turnaround for neighborhoods that have
It’s a sharp turnaround for neighborhoods that have repeatedly voted for Republican candidates by large margins over the past few years.
Strickland won his senate seat by over 24% last year in a special election, taking over for fellow Republican Janet Nguyen who went on to become an Orange County Supervisor.
Republican Assemblywoman Diane Dixon won the 72nd Assembly District in 2024 by a nearly 20% margin, but left the seat behind to run for a supervisor seat as well.
In Huntington Beach, Republican endorsed candidates have swept
And in Huntington Beach, Republican endorsed candidates have swept the last two city council elections, winning by thousands of votes and knocking out multiple Democrat incumbents.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.
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