Politics & Government

Orange County Election News: Every Vote Still Being Counted

Katie Porter has a narrow lead over Mimi Walters as votes continue to be tallied, Wed. The race not yet called in the 2018 midterms.

As votes continue to be counted, the Democratic congressional candidate Katie Porter jumped ahead of Rep. Mimi Walters, R-Irvine. This surge ahead is the first since the last tallies were released by Orange County election officials.

The latest vote tally showed Porter leading Walters 50.1 percent to 49.9 percent, but Porter is ahead by just 261 votes. There is still a long way to go.

Porter has made steady gains as vote-counting continued in the race for the 45th District seat. She was trailing Walters 51 percent to 49 percent as of last Thursday. It was unclear exactly how many ballots still need to be tallied in the district.

Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Meanwhile, the race between Democratic philanthropist and veteran Gil Cisneros and Republican Young Kim was tightening in the 39th District, which straddles Los Angeles and Orange counties. The pair are vying to replace Kim's longtime boss, retiring Rep. Ed Royce, R-Brea.

Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

According to the latest tally, which includes updated figures from both counties, Kim has 90,473 votes, or 50.2 percent, while Cisneros has 89,634, or 49.8 percent.

Democratic real estate investor Harley Rouda, who declared victory on Saturday over incumbent Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, had 52.2 percent of the vote, according to the latest tally.

In other close races, Democrat Cottie Petrie-Norris was leading Assemblyman Matthew Harper 51.1 percent to 48.9 percent.

Republican La Habra Mayor Tim Shaw was hanging on to a slim lead over Democratic Fullerton Mayor Doug Chaffee for the Fourth District Board of Supervisors race, with Shaw ahead 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Democratic congressional candidate Katie Porter (CA-45) waves at a 2018 mid-term elections rally on October 4, 2018 in Fullerton, California. The event, at California State University, Fullerton, was led by former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and was held for five California Democratic congressional candidates. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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