Rohrabacher Vs. Rouda or Keirstead In November

With northern Orange County trending toward a more Democratic demographic in a historically Republican county, Democrats see an opportunity to pick up four congressional seats this November in a county that Hillary Clinton won in 2016.

It was the first time a Democrat won Orange County since Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

For the first time, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent staff to the county to help local Democrats and the organization has spent millions on TV ads attacking Republican candidates. They are banking on the demographic shift and the unpopularity of President Donald Trump.

That strategy seems to have paid off, despite the risks posed by crowded fields that threatened to leave Republicans as the top vote-getters in multiple races.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, has been seen as particularly vulnerable because of connections his opponents have made to various figures in the special counsel's probe of possible Russian collusion with the Trump campaign.

Scott Baugh, a former chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, decided to jump into the race for the 48th District on the final day, starting a bitter feud between the onetime friends.

But Baugh, an assemblyman from 1995-2000, failed to beat out businessman Harley Rouda, who bested both him and Democratic scientist Hans Keirstead in a neck-and-neck race. Reports are saying this race remains "too close to call."

Rouda's supporters lined Pacific Coast Highway on the June Primary day, rubbing elbows with Trump supporters, all asking drivers to wave, honk and show support as they attempted to "flip the 48th."

He claimed on Twitter that it would be a "photo finish," and Keirstead agreed, voicing on Twitter that "every vote matters." Those predictions have become a reality with a mere 73 votes separating the two candidates.

Under California's electoral system, regardless of party, all candidates compete on the same June ballot, and the top two vote-winners meet in a November runoff election.

Rohrabacher will face Rouda or possibly Kierstead, both Laguna Beach residents, on the November ballot, but expressed confidence Tuesday night, telling supporters, "Orange County, we are taking back America right here."

Baugh may still come back to haunt Rohrabacher another day, according to UC Irvine political science professor Louis Desipio.

"If Rohrabacher pulls it out this time he only has so much left in him," Desipio said.

City News Service, Patch editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.