Telepeer

Primary takeaways from Orange County on election night

June 4, 2026

Voting is officially over in California, but that doesn’t mean election season is anywhere near finished.

Election Day went rather smoothly in Orange County, according to the registrar of voters, who said no major issues were reported.

Nearly 200,000 ballots were left to process in Orange County as of Wednesday afternoon, but that number may increase as eligible ballots mailed before June 2 are received and added to the pile.

More votes to count means less certainty, particularly for some of the county’s tighter races, about who will advance to the general election runoff in November.

At the very least, they’ll paint a better picture for the top two candidates who are advancing of what they’ll need to do before voters start casting ballots again in about four months.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some early primary election takeaways from Orange County.

Voters cast their ballots at the Vote Center in the El Camino Park Community Center in Orange on Tuesday, June 2. According to the registrar of voters, Election Day went smoothly. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A mixed bag for Orange County candidates

While multiple Orange County officials ran for statewide offices this year, the results have been a bit of a mixed bag.

Early, unofficial results showed OC Third District Supervisor Don Wagner poised to advance to the runoff for secretary of state, along with incumbent Shirley Weber. And in the race for attorney general, former Huntington Beach city attorney Michael Gates appears set to battle it out with incumbent Rob Bonta in the general election, those unofficial results indicate.

California state attorney general candidate Michael Gates addresses the crowd California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton's election night watch party at The Waterfront Beach Resort on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) — California state attorney general candidate Michael Gates addresses the crowd California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton’s election night watch party at The Waterfront Beach Resort on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

But in both races, they and the incumbents were the only candidates from the two major parties to run. Two Green Party candidates vied for secretary of state, while only one Green Party candidate was on the ballot for attorney general.

In two more crowded races, Orange County folks had a tougher election night.

Katie Porter, a former congresswoman from Irvine, speaks during a get-out-the-vote rally in Orange on Saturday, May 30, 2026. She conceded in the race for California governor about two hours after polls closed Tuesday night. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Former Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat from Irvine, conceded in the race for California governor about two hours after polls closed Tuesday night.

In a video posted to YouTube, Porter thanked her supporters and her team. She also lauded her campaign as one that did not take money from corporations.

At the time the video posted, Porter was in a distant fifth in the gubernatorial contest. That remained true on Wednesday.

And in the race for the state’s top schools official, early results did not show former state Sen. Josh Newman in a prime position to make the runoff.

He was sitting in seventh place on Wednesday afternoon in the crowded contest for state superintendent of public instruction.

Newman had not conceded as of Wednesday afternoon.

Orange County residents did find some success in the race for the Board of Equalization District 4 spot — albeit, that is not exactly a statewide race.

California’s Board of Equalization is a small statewide team comprised of four people who supervise property taxes and the Alcoholic Beverage Tax and Tax on Insurers programs. The District 4 spot encompasses Orange, Riverside, San Diego and Imperial counties, as well as a portion of San Bernardino County.

In that race, Orange Mayor Pro Tem Denis Bilodeau and state Sen. Tom Umberg of Santa Ana maintained a lead, according to unofficial results.

When reached by phone, Umberg said he was “cautiously optimistic” that he’ll remain in the top two to advance to November.

And Bilodeau said he felt “really good” about the results so far, especially since he said he put minimal funds into the race and was in the lead.

From left, Reps. Ken Calvert, R-Corona and Young Kim, R-Anaheim Hills and Democrat Esther Kim-Varet are first, second and third, respectively, in the primary election for California's 40th Congressional District as of midday Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (Courtesy of the candidates) — From left, Reps. Ken Calvert, R-Corona and Young Kim, R-Anaheim Hills and Democrat Esther Kim-Varet are first, second and third, respectively, in the primary election for California’s 40th Congressional District as of midday Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (Courtesy of the candidates)

Could Young Kim have another bitter contest ahead of her?

The race for California’s 40th Congressional District was one of the early pictures of the effects of last year’s redistricting. The new maps set up a vitriolic and bitter battle between two Republican incumbents, Reps. Young Kim and Ken Calvert, along with a handful of Democrats and an independent also hoping for a runoff spot.

Early results showed Calvert and Kim leading in the top two spots, potentially locking out the Democrats in the race for the district.

Kim’s spokesperson, Chris Pack, said Wednesday via a text: “While there are many ballots left to be counted, despite being outspent 10 to 1, we are confident that Congresswoman Kim will be advancing to the November election and that she’ll put an end to Ken Calvert’s 30-plus years of failing to deliver for the people of Southern California.”

But with ballots still being counted, Calvert sits with a bigger lead.

That leaves room for Esther Kim-Varet, an art gallery owner who lives in Coto de Caza. Especially since late-arriving ballots generally lean more Democratic.

Kim-Varet said she’s “cautiously optimistic” as she watches more votes being tabulated.

“Young Kim has been underperforming, but so have I slightly because of the Democratic split,” Kim-Varet said in a phone interview on Wednesday. “If the later votes that come are Democratic leaning, which is what the trend looks like, there is a slim chance that Young Kim won’t be moving in the numbers, but I could move.”

“We won’t know that until every ballot is counted,” she said.

Lessons from down-ballot races

A trio of Assembly races in Orange County were hot contests this year, with multiple candidates vying for open seats and special interest groups spending oodles of money.

While two of the three remained a bit unsettled Wednesday — Assembly Districts 67 and 68 — other state legislative races that weren’t so contested also give an insight as to how the general election may fare.

Take, for example, the four state Senate races on Orange County voters’ ballots this year. In all of those races, only two candidates vied for those spots, meaning they’ll both advance automatically to the fall.

But the candidates — and their campaign teams, of course — are using the primary as a bit of a crystal ball.

“The polls have closed, the first ballots are counted, and SD38 is a battleground!” boasted an optimistic email from Republican Laura Bassett’s campaign Wednesday afternoon. Bassett is vying for the 38th State Senate district, which includes communities in southern Orange County, against Democratic incumbent Catherine Blakespear.

Early results showed the two fairly neck and neck in the primary race, with Blakespear enjoying a small lead. And later voters tend to be Democrats, especially this year, with the governor’s race at the top of the ticket so uncertain.

“We’ll continue doing the work, (November is) five months from now,” Blakespear said on election night. “ I’ve been in office for four years, and I have a history with the district and am continuing to gain the trust of the voters.”

Staff writers Jeff Horseman, Victoria Le and Claire Wang contributed to this report.

Primary takeaways from Orange County on election night Orange County Register

News Details

Primary takeaways from Orange County on election night

A mixed bag for Orange County candidates

Could Young Kim have another bitter contest ahead of her?

Lessons from down-ballot races

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

News

CONTACT INFO

QUICK LINKS

SERVICES

CURRENT NEWS