- Why now?
- Orange County Board of Supervisors
- District 1
- District 3
- Orange County key U.S. House races
- District 45
- District 47
- Judicial races
- Office No. 3
- Office No. 16
- Office No. 35
- Huntington Beach ballot measures
- Measure A passes
- Measure B passes
- Irvine's Measure D passes
- Westminister's Measure E passes
Everything you need to know about Orange County elections results is happening right here. The updates below are based on the latest results from the Orange County Registrar of Voters. Here are some highlights:
- Orange County voters recalled two conservative members of the Orange Unified School District Board of Education after a campaign that focused in part on gender, sexuality and LGBTQ+ students' rights.
- Three judge's seats were up for grab, and were won by the prosecutors running in those respective races.
- In Westminister, a sales take hike has a surprisingly strong lead, with over 61% of the vote so far.
- And incumbent Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner enjoys the support of more than 63% of voters.
- Two controversial measures on the ballot in the city of Huntington Beach voters approved a measure that requires voter ID and limits what flags can be raised on city property, while a third administrative measure was rejected.
- And in Congressional District 45, which straddles Orange and Los Angeles County, incumbent U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel, a Republican, easily advanced to the fall runoff. One of her opponents, Derek Tran, is hanging onto second place — which puts him in a Fall runoff against Steel — by less than 200 votes in Orange County.
Why now?
The Orange County Registrar of Voters released its latest count as of 5:43 p.m. March 22, and reported that all ballots have been processed.
The election was March 5. So you might be asking yourself, why does it take so long to make it all official?
As a recent LAist story explained: Californians overwhelmingly vote by mail — more than 87% of votes cast in the 2022 general election were mail-in ballots. Those ballots can be postmarked up to and including Election Day. They're counted as long as the ballot arrives within seven days (for the primary, that was Tuesday, March 12).
It's all part of the meticulous voting process in California: The Secretary of State is slated to certify the final primary results on April 12.
Here's a closer look at the results:
Orange County Board of Supervisors
The five county supervisors are some of the most powerful people in Orange County, deciding about $9 billion in spending each year on key government services like public health, mental health, law enforcement and child protective services. There are two seats up for grabs in this election, Districts 1 and 3.
District 1
The candidates are running to replace current Supervisor Andrew Do, who cannot run because he’s termed out.
About the candidates
Janet Nguyen: The State Senator for the 36th District is seeking a return to the board she served on from 2007 to 2014. She’s calling for an overhaul of the county’s animal care agency and more audits of county spending. She now heads into a fall runoff with her closest opponent.
Frances Marquez: The Cypress City Councilmember and former legislative director for U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal is the only Democrat in the race. She touts her experience at the House of Representatives, where she says she helped secure funding for a local science and math program.
Van Tran: Tran, a well-known former state Assemblyman, has been Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do’s co-chief of staff and is endorsed by Do. Tran, who is an attorney, has highlighted his experience in Sacramento and as a Garden Grove City council member.
Kimberly Ho: Ho, who has served as a Westminster council member since late 2016, owns a skincare company and numerous properties. She campaigned in part on her promises to take a stand against corruption at her city hall.
Michael Vo: A business owner and a former Fountain Valley mayor, Vo campaigned on promising funding for law enforcement and lower taxes. He ran for supervisor in a 2021 special election and placed fourth out of five candidates.
District 3
About the candidates
Don Wagner: The incumbent O.C. Supervisor is seeking a second full term in office and had an enviable lead on his opponent from the start. By winning more than 50% of the vote, he avoids a runoff in the Fall. The Republican has served as supervisor since 2019, and points to his support of law enforcement and a state veterans cemetery near Anaheim Hills. He released a statement saying: "While the votes are still being counted, it’s safe to say that my currently almost 30 point lead will last. The voters casually swatted away an uninspired, dishonest, and cynical campaign against me. They knew that my District Three team and I have worked relentlessly and effectively to better the quality of life for all Orange County citizens... In my next term in office, I will continue to prioritize protecting public safety and standing with law enforcement, maintain fiscal discipline and integrity with balanced budgets and no new taxes, fight for local control of our neighborhoods, schools, and economy, and tackle the mental health and homeless crises."
Farrah N. Kahn: The Irvine Mayor, a Democrat, pointed to her creation of the Irvine City Council’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee and her work to distribute money to small businesses during the pandemic. She posted this on LinkedIn: "Thank you to everyone that supported our campaign. I’m truly grateful for your support. I look forward to completing the remainder of my term as Mayor, uplifting our communities and standing on the side of justice."
Orange Unified School District recall elections
Orange Unified School board trustees Rick Ledesma and Madison Miner, representing district areas 4 and 7, considered themselves part of the self-named parental rights movement and touted their help in passing a "parents bill of rights" that reiterates parents' rights to review curriculum and have their opinions taken into consideration by district leaders.
Recall backers saw their agenda as something darker, accusing the pair of, among other things, targeting LGBTQ+ students. During their tenure, Ledesma and Miner helped pass policies that ban flying the Pride flag at schools and require schools to notify parents if their child asks to use a different name or gender than the one assigned to them at birth.
Orange County key U.S. House races
Here's a look at a few of the top house races playing out in Orange County.
District 45
About the race right now:
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel will advance to the general election in the fall with a commanding lead. The big question is who she will run against: At the latest tally, only a few hundred votes in Orange County separated the No. 2 and No. 3 candidates. The district straddles Orange and Los Angeles counties.
Why this will be a key race in the fall: This politically diverse district is among the key ones in California that have helped determine control of Congress in past elections and is one of eight districts in California targeted by national Democrats in 2024. Republicans are equally determined to fend them off.
About the other candidates
Derek Tran
Workers’ rights advocate, Democrat
Kim Bernice Nguyen-Penaloza
Garden Grove Councilmember Democrat
Cheyenne Hunt
Legislative policy analyst, Democrat
Aditya Pai
Affordable housing attorney, Democrat
District 47
Why this will be a key race in the fall: The district is represented by Rep. Katie Porter, who vacated the seat to run for U.S. Senate. She lost. Democrats, of course, are hoping to hold onto the seat, while Republicans are hoping to make inroads.
The fall showdown will see Republican Scott Baugh pitted against State Sen. Dave Min, a Democrat.
About the candidates
Scott Baugh
Businessman, Republican
Dave Min
State Senator, Democrat
Joanna Weiss
Voting rights advocate, Democrat
Max Ukropina
Business owner, Republican
Long Pham
Nuclear engineer, Republican
Terry Crandall
CEO, no party preference
Boyd Roberts
Real estate broker and publisher, Democrat
Tom McGrath
Senior chemical engineer, no party preference
Bill Smith
Retired general counsel, no party preference
Shariq Zaidi
Security officer, Democrat
Judicial races
Read more: In all three races, the Orange County Deputy District Attorneys are sailing to an easy victory. Read more about the races for Orange County Superior Court judgeships, including candidate's statements and campaign platforms ▶
Office No. 3
About the candidates
Jason Baez
Orange County Deputy District Attorney
Dan Jacobson
Attorney
Office No. 16
About the candidates
Richard Zimmer
Orange County Deputy District Attorney
Binh Dang
Los Angeles County Deputy Public Defender
Office No. 35
About the candidates
Whitney Bokosky
Orange County Deputy District Attorney
Daniel J. Kern
Attorney At Law
Huntington Beach ballot measures
Read more: Voter ID, Flag Restriction Lead Polls in Huntington Beach. Opponents Admit Defeat ▶
Measure A passes
Measure A would change Huntington Beach's charter (like a constitution for cities) to allow the city to require voters to show identification in municipal elections starting in 2026. It would also allow the city to monitor ballot drop boxes and add 20 new voting locations dispersed throughout the city. The proposal set off alarm bells among voting rights advocates and state leaders, who point to evidence that voter ID requirements disproportionately impact low-income people and non-white voters.
Measure B passes
Measure B would add a section to Huntington Beach's charter to limit the city's display of flags on city property to government and military flags, along with the POW/MIA flag, and, around the Summer Olympic Games, the Olympic flag. Opponents said the real purpose of the measure is to make it nearly impossible to fly the Pride flag on city property.
Measure C fails
Measure C would have changed the rules for filling city council vacancies, require the city to adopt a two-year, or biennial, budget, and change the rules for canceling city council meetings.
Irvine's Measure D passes
Measure D asked Irvine voters to add two more members to the four-member city council (for a total of six members) and adopt a map that would divide the city into six corresponding city council districts. The new council would include the mayor and the six councilmembers: The mayor would remain an at-large position chosen by all voters in Irvine and would still vote on issues that come before the city council.
This would continue a trend underway in California for years. Voting rights groups have pressed cities to adopt district elections as a way to ensure more diversity on their city councils. The measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the Irvine city council.
Westminister's Measure E passes
Measure E asked Westminster voters to add an additional half percent sales tax to secure the city’s financial stability. That tax would be added on to the existing sales tax and would provide an estimated $8 million dollars annually, the authors of the measure say.
Those funds would help close a nearly $9 million budget gap and go to just about every service the city offers, including the upkeep and safety of public parks, protecting local drinking water supplies and supporting local businesses. The authors say the money would also be used to address homelessness by maintaining a new shelter and providing job training as well as mental health and substance abuse services.
Critics, however, said a higher sales tax would send shoppers to nearby cities with lower sales taxes, thereby defeating the purpose of the tax. The sales tax in Westminster, currently 8.75%, is already on the higher end of city tax rates in Orange County; the new ballot measure proposed raising that to 9.25%.)
