OC Republicans Hold Narrow Leads In Congressional Races

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Two Republican challengers hold narrow leads over Orange County Democratic House members Thursday morning. Michelle Steel leads Rep. Harley Rouda, Democrat of the 48th coastal district, by 2,851 votes as of the last count. Young Kim, former Assemblywoman, leads Gil Cisneros, Democrat for the 39th District, by a razor thin margin.

Both races remain too close to call. The Orange County Registrar of Voters has said that both elections show voting is up by over 6 percent in the 39th and 11 percent in the 48th districts.

The sitting Orange County Supervisors Chairwoman has 50.42 percent of the vote to Rouda's 49.58 percent. A mere 2,851 votes separate the two - 171,461 for Steel to Rouda's 168,610.

How many more ballots remain in the count is not known.

Rouda has campaigned on his achievements while in congress, pointing to his across the aisle to reach consensus agreements. He said he wants to "continue our work to lower prescription drug costs, protect our coastline, and stand up to the insiders and special interests that run Washington.

During her campaign, Steel pointed to her work on the Board of Supervisors, saying she fought higher taxes while working to reduce traffic congestion and "ensuring our bays and coastlines are clean."

Another tight race, one of just over 1,500 votes, follows former Assemblywoman Young Kim and Rep. Gil Cisneros, D-Yorba Linda. Kim leads Cisneros 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent in the race to represent the 39th Congressional District, consisting of portions of Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties.

Kim has 138,425 votes and Cisneros 136,742.
The current race replayed that of 2018 when Cisneros defeated the former Rep. Ed Royce's protege.

Two years ago, Kim was leading and even traveled to Washington, D.C., for orientation for newly elected House members, only to be overtaken by Cisneros in late-arriving ballots.

This post will be updated as more ballots are recorded.

Read: REAL-TIME RESULTS: Orange County's 2020 Election Counts