Democrats press Republicans in close Orange County coastal races

Democrats remained competitive Thursday evening in Orange County coastal races that Republicans have often won comfortably, with preliminary returns showing narrow margins in state legislative contests. The races remained too close to call, according to Voice of OC.

The contests will determine state legislative representation for much of the county’s coastline and seats on the Huntington Beach City Council. The narrow margins contrast with previous Republican victories, some by more than 20%, but do not establish a final partisan shift.

In the 36th State Senate District, Democratic challenger Chris Duncan held just over 50% of the vote as of 5 p.m. Thursday, Voice of OC reported. He led incumbent Republican Tony Strickland by around 3,700 votes.

The Republican candidate held the narrow advantage in the 72nd Assembly District. Huntington Beach Councilwoman Gracey Van Der Mark had 50.4% of the vote, putting her just over 1,600 votes ahead of Democrat Chris Kluwe, according to the publication.

In Huntington Beach, Republican Mayor Casey McKeon and Councilmembers Andrew Gruel and Pat Burns were on track to keep their seats. Those preliminary standings did not amount to final results.

Democratic challenger Ben Davis was on track to win a City Council seat, Voice of OC reported. Fellow Democrat Erin Spivey trailed him by just 50 votes.

Mike Moodian, a professor of political science at Chapman University, said in a Thursday interview with Voice of OC that such close margins were unusual in these traditionally Republican contests. He viewed the competitiveness as evidence of Democratic gains reaching the county’s coastline.

For now, the preliminary count shows tighter competition in territory where Republicans have usually held an advantage. Whether that competition translates into changed representation remained unresolved Thursday evening.