Battle for House Control Runs Through California's Orange County

A fierce battle over a handful of congressional seats in the Southern California bastion of Republicanism could determine both the GOP’s future in the state and the outcome of the national battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Orange County, a region of 3.1 million people just south of Los Angeles, has long been the ideological center of California conservatism. But it’s been undergoing some of the same demographic shifts that have realigned the politics of other regions of the country.

The changes are reflected in the Republican and Democratic candidates competing in one of the most closely watched U.S. House races in the country: a 55-year-old immigrant who would be the first Korean-American woman to serve in Congress is running against a 47-year-old Latino lottery winner and U.S. Navy veteran.

Young Kim, an aide to retiring Republican Representative Ed Royce, faces Democrat Gil Cisneros, a retired naval officer who won $266 million in California’s Mega Millions lottery in 2010. They face off in the 39th congressional district, one of seven in the state now held by a Republican that both parties regard as vital to determining who wins control of the House in the November election.

Competitive Races

“Any successful effort to retake the House runs through Orange County,” said Fred Smoller, an associate professor at Chapman University in the city of Orange. “For the first time, we have really competitive seats at the national level.”