Up and down the ticket on Orange County ballots, some major races are taking place that can have serious ramifications for the country and local politics. We’re breaking down some of the races to keep an eye on with UCI political science and Chicano/Latino Studies professor Louis DeSipio, as well as KPCC & LAist reporters Jill Replogle and Josie Huang, who are covering several of these important races. “In the 47^th – the Katie Porter/Scott Baugh race – you’re seeing sort of abortion on one side vs. corruption on the other side – and you know, that will turn out the base, but I don’t know how the ‘no party preference’ voters will respond,” said DeSipio. … “[Orange County is] purple… it is a pretty even split between the Democrats and the Republicans. The Democrats have a slight advantage in registration. ‘No party preference’ makes up another 20% or so of the electorate. County-wide, the county has supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 and then Joe Biden in 2020. As was mentioned - I think somewhat of a surprise – in 2018, all of the congressional seats went to the Democrats. 2020, a couple of those congressional seats flipped back, confirming the purple status. Today, Democrats, as I say, maintain a very slight registration advantage and a slightly stronger advantage in early voting, which I think may play a role next week.” 

For the full story, please visit https://www.kpcc.org/show/airtalk/2022-11-03/rounding-up-some-of-the-most-contentious-races-in-orange-county.