While California as a whole is deep blue, many districts in the state are much more purple. In coastal Orange County, Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat, fought Tuesday to retain her seat in a district where 35.6% of the electorate is Democrat and 34% Republican. The race was virtually tied on Wednesday morning.
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At a polling place in Irvine on Tuesday, Kate Colesworthy, a real estate agent, said her priority was keeping Porter in power as part of a bid to keep the country from falling under Republican control. “It’s not the world I want to live in,” she said. “It’s a painful thing to contemplate, really.”
Also voting there, Steve Bjorkman, 70, of Irvine, said he didn’t feel very attached to any of the candidates. But in general, Republicans aligned better with his values, and he said he worried about what he saw as an “authoritarian” government. He said he voted Republican on the ticket, including for Scott Baugh, Porter’s opponent.
And in Los Angeles, the nation’s second most populous city, many were focused on the high-profile mayoral race, which was tight ahead of the election. On Wednesday morning, billionaire developer Rick Caruso had a slight lead over longtime representative Karen Bass, but the contest remained too close to be announced and the final result was not expected for days or even weeks.
Another contest, for Los Angeles County Sheriff, appeared to favor challenger Robert Luna over incumbent Alex Villanueva, whose first term was marked by his combative approach to the job.
“It’s not that it’s an irrelevant year,” Sonenshein told me. “Only national elections are boring. House elections are extremely important. Municipal elections are extremely important.
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