LAKE FOREST, CA — The polls are closed in Orange County, and voters will soon know who will represent them on the Lake Forest City Council, if billionaires will get their own California tax, and whether a blue wave will flood Congress, possibly sinking the final two years of President Donald Trump's lame-duck presidency.
Millions of voters and election officials wait not only for the results but also for the president's reaction. Trump's Justice Department spent the final two weeks of the campaign season issuing subpoenas to California election officials and suing to block 20,000 Golden State ballots from being counted amid allegations of illegal voting. The Justice Department issued subpoenas for multiple California election officials to appear in court the day after the election.
Amid that contentious backdrop, Californians cast their ballots for a new governor, widely expected to be Democrat Xavier Becerra, who went into the election with a wide lead in the polls over Republican Steve Hilton.
The outcome of dozens of down-ballot primary races also hangs in the balance in Orange County. Voters are waiting to find out who came out ahead in the county Board of Supervisors and congressional districts.
In Lake Forest, residents casted their votes for who they wished to represent them on the city council dais.
Voters will also decide whether or not to pass Measure F, which would create a four-year waiting period before someone who has served two terms could seek election back to the council.
Scroll down for real-time [PATCH County] election results.
Click here to track your ballot and make sure it is counted.
As of September, the California Secretary of State reported that 23,164,977 Californians were registered to vote, which accounts for more than 85 percent of the state's eligible voting population.
Not surprisingly, there are far more registered Democrats than Republicans in the state, with 45 percent for the former and 25 percent for the latter.
In Orange County, the rate of voter registration is high. As of September, 1,905,933 were registered to vote — with 36.46 percent of voters registered as Democrats, 33.59 percent as Republicans.
Can't see the widget? Click here for all County election results. Be sure to refresh this page for the latest.
For the most current Orange County 2026 election results, scroll down.
Based on early voting, California is poised to see 60 percent of registered voters head to the polls, a record for a gubernatorial race, Paul Mitchell, of political data analysis firm Political Data told The San Francisco Chronicle.
While the governor's race was expected to be called early Tuesday, it's California's congressional races and ballot measures poised to offer the biggest upsets and surprises. Hanging in the balance is control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mitchell predicted that five key redrawn congressional districts appear poised to deliver Democratic victories driven, in part, by high turnout among Latino voters.
"I think the blue wave is on track," Mitchell told The Chronicle. "It seems to be on track that we're going to have a really strong turnout."
So far, voter turnout has been higher in competitive races such as the Central Valley's District 22 and the 48th Congressional District in San Diego — two districts Democrats hope to flip after their mid-decade gerrymander.
As of Oct. 29, Democratic voters represented 51 percent of ballots returned statewide compared to just 28 percent among Republican voters, according to the Political Data tracker.
Lake Forest City Council
There are a slew of candidates running for the three out of five seats currently up for election on the Lake Forest City Council. For the 2026 election, seats for District 2, District 3 and District 4 are currently contested.
Of the nine candidates running for Lake Forest City Council, Benjamin Yu — current District 2 council member — is the sole incumbent running for reelection.
Candidates challenging Yu in District 2 include small business owner George Azer, mechanical engineer Brandon Council, public accountant Becky Keene and nonprofit founder Brittany Thompson.
As of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Orange County Registrar of Voters reported Keene leading the District 2 race with 41 percent of the vote. Yu trailed closely behind with 37 percent of the vote.
In District 3, Lake Forest Planning Commissioner Tom Grable and Traffic and Parking Commission member Anil Patel will go head-to-head for the seat.
As of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Grable led the race with 58 percent of the vote, while Patel trailed with 41 percent, according to the OC Registrar of Voters.
In District 4, Shari Rhodes — a Lake Forest business owner and PTA president — will run against Amy Stevens, a communications consultant and former La Madera PTA President.
As of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Stevens held a lead with 52 percent of the vote, while Rhodes trailed close behind with 47 percent of the vote, according to the OC Registrar of Voters.
Congressional Districts
Democratic incumbent Dave Min is going head-to-head with former gubernatorial candidate Jenny Rae Le Roux, battling to keep the seat representing California's 47th Congressional District.
The seat — which Min has held since 2025 — has historically been a Republican stronghold that, in recent years, became a swing district on the coast of Orange County.
The 47th Congressional District includes Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Tustin, and a portion of Newport Beach and Mission Viejo.
Lake Forest Measures
Lake Forest voters will choose if residents who have served on the City Council should have a waiting period before being able to run again.
If implemented, Measure F would create a four-year waiting period before someone who has served two terms could seek election back to the council.
A voting majority would pass Measure F, and the measure would apply to all winners in the November election and going forward, according to the city.
California voters headed to the polls Tuesday, facing high gas and grocery prices, the effects of climate change on wildfires and rising seas amid a shortage in insurance coverage and the ever-present housing affordability crisis.
The governor's race was somewhat anticlimactic following a chaotic primary with a crowded field of candidates roiled when the frontrunner was forced to step down amid sexual assault allegations. Since then, Becerra maintained a steady lead over Hilton in the polls.
In the final days of the election, a new SurveyUSA poll showed Becerra with a 22-point lead.
Click here for real-time results in the California Governor's races.
All 52 of California's Congressional seats were on the ballot.
Congressional races across California were under intense scrutiny following voter approval of Proposition 50, a partisan redistricting measure expected to reshape the state's political map. Thanks to the redistricting, only a handful of districts were truly competitive. Democrats hoped to flip as many as five Republican House seats in a bid to overturn the GOP's slim House majority.
Democrats think they can flip as many as five seats, with four seeming very much in reach, according to the polls. Both parties are spending like control of the House is on the line.
Click here for real-time results in California's Congressional races.
There were 14 statewide propositions on the ballot this week. Arguably, the most hot-button ballot initiatives involve taxation. Proposition 40 is the highly discussed billionaire tax, while Propositions 41 and 42 aim to counter the measure. Proposition 3 also addresses taxes on the state's highest earners.
Click here for real-time results for all of California's ballot measures.
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Lake Forest Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.