Polls across Orange County are open until 8 p.m. today. In central and north OC, four races will determine which candidates move to November — and in CA-45, the result could finally settle a congressional district that's been in a low-grade political war since the 2024 election.
CA-45: The race we've been watching all year
Democratic Rep. Derek Tran won CA-45 in November 2024 by 653 votes. Since then, the district hasn't exactly settled down.
On the Republican side, Westminster City Councilmember Amy Phan West and businessman Tom Vo are the main contenders for a shot at Tran in November. Vo entered the race with a significant fundraising advantage — North OC Pulse reported earlier this year that he led the Republican field in total dollars raised heading into the primary.
Phan West, meanwhile, has spent the past several months doing double duty: running for Congress while simultaneously serving on the Westminster City Council, where Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen and the council majority voted to restrict her ability to record council proceedings — a sequence of events that drew attention partly because Nguyen is also a CA-45 candidate.
Nguyen's campaign has been the most unusual subplot of the cycle. North OC Pulse reported last week that Tran's campaign operation has been funding ads that boost Nguyen — apparently on the theory that a Nguyen vs. Tran general election would be easier for the Democrat than a Phan West rematch. Then, days before today's vote, a text message hit Republican voters in the district attacking Tran and boosting Nguyen, with no FEC disclosure attached.
Under California's top-two system, the two highest vote-getters today advance to November regardless of party. A same-party Republican runoff between Phan West and Vo is possible if Tran underperforms.
AD-70: Tri Ta's test
In the 70th Assembly District — which covers Westminster, Garden Grove, and the heart of Little Saigon — Republican incumbent Tri Ta faces Democratic challenger Paula Swift. Ta made history as the first Vietnamese-American elected to the California State Assembly. Today's results will show how well that coalition holds in a cycle with a competitive congressional race pulling Vietnamese-American voter attention in multiple directions.
AD-67: Nobody's sure how this one lands
The 67th Assembly District is an open seat — Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva is termed out. Five candidates are competing, which makes this one genuinely hard to call.
On the Democratic side: Ada Briceño, the co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11 and former chair of the Orange County Democratic Party; Mark Pulido, a Cerritos City Council member backed by Attorney General Rob Bonta; and Ali Taj, an Artesia City Council member endorsed by Quirk-Silva herself. Republicans Paulo Morales, a retired law enforcement veteran, and Adrian Ayub round out the field.
The math is messy. Three Democrats splitting the vote could let one or both Republicans advance to November. A strong consolidation around one Democrat could flip the calculus entirely. No clear frontrunner has emerged publicly.
OC Supervisor, 4th District: Four candidates, no incumbent
The Orange County Board of Supervisors' 4th District race is another wide-open contest. Doug Chaffee is termed out, and four candidates are running to replace him: Tim Shaw, a former La Habra city councilman and current Orange County Board of Education member; Connor Traut; Rose Espinoza; and Fred Jung. The district covers Fullerton, La Habra, Buena Park, Placentia, Stanton, and parts of Anaheim and Brea.
Shaw enters today as the best-organized Republican in the field. Whether the Democratic vote consolidates around one candidate or splits between Traut, Espinoza, and Jung is the question. The November matchup — and potentially the ideological direction of the Board of Supervisors — may come down to how those numbers shake out tonight.
Polls close at 8 p.m.
California polls close at 8 p.m. The Orange County Registrar of Voters will begin posting results after polls close. Mail ballot-heavy races — which is most of them — often don't show final margins until later in the evening or the following day. North OC Pulse will have results coverage as numbers come in.