REAL-TIME Orange County's Congressional Races: 2020 Election
NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Orange County has some of the most closely watched congressional races in the southland on election day. Orange County voters weighed in on races for representation in the U.S. Congress from districts across the region.
District 39: Incumbent Cisneros Vs. Kim In A Too Close To Call Race
Voters in the 39th Congressional District, including parts of Northern Orange County, will decide between Gil Cisneros, the incumbent, and Young Kim, a former assemblywoman. In this highly contested race, as of midday Wednesday, Kim was ahead of Cisneros 52.3 percent to 47.7 percent.
45th District: Katie Porter Victorious Over Raths, AP Calls Race
In the 45th District, Katie Porter, Democrat, the incumbent, faced off with Greg Raths, Republican, a councilman in Mission Viejo for the district hit hard by the Silverado Fire in late October.
With 54 percent of the vote over her competitor's 45.7 percent, the AP declared incumbent Katie Porter the victor, once again.
Voters will turn out from Irvine, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, and Rancho Santa Margarita to make their voices heard.
46th District: Correa Wins Over Waters, AP Calls Race
For the 46th District, incumbent Lou Correa, Democrat, faces James S. Waters, Republican, a former postal worker. The district primarily encompasses Santa Ana, Orange, and Anaheim, hard hit by the devastating blow to tourism at Orange County theme parks and subsequent layoffs amid the coronavirus pandemic.
47th District: Lowenthal Wins Over Briscoe (AP)
The 47th District has incumbent Alan Lowenthal, Democrat, faced off with Republican challenger John Briscoe, school board member of the Ocean View School District. As of noon, Wednesday, 242,416 votes were counted to show Lowenthal won handily in this AP called race. Lowenthal earned 63 percent of the vote compared to Briscoe's 36.9 percent. He will continue to represent North Orange County in a portion of this district, in the cities of Garden Grove, Westminster, Cypress, Los Alamitos.
48th District: Rouda Vs. Steel Race Still Too Close To Call
In the 48th Congressional District, incumbent Harley Rouda, Democrat, faces Michelle Steel, Republican, County Board Of Supervisors Chairwoman. With 336,408 votes counted, up 10 percent from 2016, Steel was ahead with 50 percent of the vote to Rouda's 49.7 percent.
Harley Rouda is best known for ousting long-standing Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher in 2018.
The two faced off in a bitter race, that had Rouda showing an early lead late on election night. By midnight, Steel muscled her way through with a slight lead, showing the slicing division of red vs. blue in the hotly contested stronghold. With Steel making her presence known almost daily amid the coronavirus outbreak in Orange County, as the chairwoman of the board of supervisors, did Rouda do enough across the aisle work to make it matter? This race remains to be called as of this report.
The district includes Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, and Laguna Niguel.
49th District: Levin Beats Maryott In Re-Election Bid (AP)
Incumbent Mike Levin faced off with Bryan Maryott, a San Juan Capistrano City Councilman, in the battle for the 49th District. With 312,494 votes counted as of noon, Levin has pulled ahead with 54.7 percent of the vote to Maryott's 45.3 percent as of noon, Wednesday.
The 49th spans South Orange County cities of Ladera Ranch, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, and north San Diego County.
In the battle for the coastal 48th District incumbent Democrat Harley Rouda fights for another term. His opponent, Republican Michelle Steel, the chairwoman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, aims to unseat him.
Rouda was out with an early lead in his reelection bid, based upon Tuesday night's initial election results, but by Wednesday morning, Steel pulled in front with a narrow margin.
Early vote totals as of 9 p.m. showed Rouda with 55 percent of the vote, ahead of Steel's 45 percent. By 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Michelle Steel held a narrow lead, with 50.29 percent of the vote to Rouda's 49.71 percent.
Ballots are still being counted and the race remains close in this heartily contested district.
(Scroll down to find Real-Time Congressional Results Below)
Also closely watched is the return bid by Gil Cisneros battle with former Assemblywoman Young Kim in the 39th District. This was a rematch of 2018 when Cisneros defeated the former Rep. Ed Royce's protégé.
Cisneros had an early lead over Kim with 52.7 percent to Kim's 47.3 percent, however by Wednesday morning, Kim pulled ahead, with 52.32 percent of the vote to Cisneros's 47.68 percent.
Again, the race for the 39th district remains too close to call as of Wednesday morning.
Two years ago, Kim was leading and even traveled to Washington, D.C., for orientation for newly elected congressional representatives, only to be overtaken by Cisneros in late-arriving ballots in a district with residents in Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties.
The results are in: Now What? Read: Orange County Polls Close, Your Election Results Timeline
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City News Service contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on the Mission Viejo Patch
