Election 2022: Results and races hold steady in Orange County amid low voter turnout

Mirroring trends across the state of California, voter turnout at the polls in Orange County was low — as of early Wednesday evening, the county Registrar of Voters office showed an estimated 19.2% of eligible voters cast their ballots in this year’s primary, although some ballots mailed by the Tuesday deadline may still be outstanding.

This compares to 2020’s primary election, when 50.1% of the county’s then 1.6 million registered voters turned up to vote.

Election officials reported that year that the turnout was 18.2% higher than in 2016 and 91.5% higher than in 2012. In last year’s gubernatorial recall election, 62.9% of the county’s 1.8 million registered voters participated.

Election experts said the low turnout may have been because of a lack of exciting races on the ballot this year in California compared to other parts of the country like in Georgia, which had record voter turnout for its primary on May 24. Still, there are still a number of races that are still too close to call and races in some nonpartisan offices that may see a runoff this fall.

The following are the results recorded as of press deadline Wednesday for some of the closer races followed by the Daily Pilot:

45th Congressional District

Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Surfside) has overtaken Democrat candidate Jay Chen in the 45th Congressional District.

Steel currently has about 50% of the votes cast in Tuesday’s primary election, followed by Chen with 40.2% of the votes. Tuesday night the two were neck and neck with just a 1% margin separating them. Fellow competitor Long Pham now has 9.9% of the votes, making Steel and Chen the two competitors on the ballot in November.

The district represents Cerritos, Buena Park, Westminster, Garden Grove and Fountain Valley.

72nd State Assembly District

Newport Beach Councilwoman Diane Dixon has closed the gap between her and candidate Judie Mancuso from Tuesday night’s early returns.

On Wednesday night Dixon had 42.1% of the votes, still lagging behind Mancuso’s 43.8% of the votes — a margin of just 1.7%. Fellow competitor Benjamin Yu pulled about 14% of the early votes cast Tuesday. Dixon and Mancuso will be competing for the state Assembly seat in November.

The district represents Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills and Lake Forest.

O.C. Supervisor, 5th District

A November runoff looks possible for the Orange County Supervisors’ race in its fifth district.

As of Tuesday evening, county Supervisor Katrina Foley, with 41.3% of the vote, was still maintaining her lead on fellow candidates state Sen. Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel), Diane Harkey and Newport Beach Mayor Kevin Muldoon. Bates follows second with 23.1% of the votes, then Harkey with 18.4% and Muldoon with 17.2%.

If neither manages to secure 50% of the votes, Foley and Bates will head to a November run-off for the seat.

This district represents Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine, Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente.

O.C. District Attorney

Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer is poised to win reelection without a need for a November runoff.

Spitzer captured 64.1% of the votes, followed by candidate Peter Hardin who received about 19%, according to preliminary results.

Hardin issued a statement Wednesday morning acknowledging there were still votes to be counted but admitting the likelihood of his defeat. He thanked voters and supporters of his campaign, adding that he was grateful to have shared his vision for Orange County.

Huntington Beach Measure A

Huntington Beach’s Measure A, which would allow for the implementation of a cannabis tax, was largely supported by voters, with 66.4% approving the cannabis tax compared to the 33.6% opposed to it. It will require two-thirds of Huntington Beach voters to be successful.

Currently, the city does not allow for cannabis businesses, but change may soon be on the horizon. If approved, there would be a 6% tax on cannabis retailers and a 1% tax on other cannabis-related businesses.

Votes are still being counted, and readers can check to see how many remain at ocvote.gov/results/whats-left-to-count and check the most updated numbers at ocvote.gov/results/current-election-results.

Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.