Republican state Sen. Janet Nguyen is on track to win Andrew Do's former seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, after her opponent, Cypress Councilmember Frances Marquez, conceded the race Thursday after results showed Nguyen with a wide lead among ballots counted so far.
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As you watch these results, keep in mind:
- As of Friday, Nov. 15, Orange County voters had returned nearly 1.4 million ballots and 1.36 million had been tallied.
- The county has about 1.9 million voters considered to be active.
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Get full results:
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Keep in mind that in tight races the winner may not be determined for days or weeks after Election Day. This is normal. Here's why.
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In Orange County vote updates will the released each weekday by 5 p.m. until the last official results are posted.
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In California, ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 5 are counted toward the results as long as they arrive within seven days of the election. The California Secretary of State's Office is scheduled to certify the final vote on Dec. 13.
The vacant seat was held for nearly a decade by Do, who recently resigned and pleaded guilty to a scheme to steal millions of dollars that were supposed to feed needy seniors, following a months-long LAist investigation and federal probe.
Nguyen tells LAist chose her to clean up corruption in response to the Do scandal.
"[My lead in the count] shows that we have what voters wanted, and we have a plan. We're going to root out that corruption, and we're going to make sure that it's not going to happen again in Orange County," Nguyen said. "It's a new day in Orange County. It's a new day for the 1st District."
Nguyen enormously out-fundraised her challenger in the race, Cypress Councilmember Frances Marquez, by 4-to-1.
Marquez, a Democrat, conceded Thursday as the latest count showed Nguyen leading 63 percent to 37 percent.
"I want to congratulate Supervisor-elect Janet Nguyen on this victory, and I wish her the best in her service," Marquez wrote in a social media post.
Asked about her plans to clean up corruption, Nguyen said she's going to make sure audits are conducted "and we're going to start cleaning house."
"We're going to start with auditing because we [have] got to find out what all these contracts are. Who are they? What are they?" Nguyen said.
"Did they finish and actually meet their obligations to the county? If not, we're gonna get them to return their money to the people."
Do couldn't run for re-election due to term limits, and was scheduled to leave his seat in early January.
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He had endorsed his then-co-chief of staff, Van Tran, as his successor, though Tran placed third in the March primary and didn't make the runoff.
Nguyen used to be Do’s boss more than a decade ago, when she previously was a county supervisor. But the two had a major falling out and have been bitter political opponents for many years.
Because of Do's resignation, the winner will get to take office early. Instead of being sworn-in in early January, she'll be able to take office sometime between Dec. 3 and 17, depending on when officials certify the results and declare a winner.
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