Orange County voters are deciding one of the most competitive house races in the country tonight, choosing a new congressman to replace the outgoing Rep. Katie Porter.
Baugh pulled ahead for the first time at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night, with a 1% lead over Min – a 2,626 gap between the two candidates, according to the Orange County Registrar of Voters.
The 47th District, which includes cities like Irvine and Huntington Beach, has received national attention this year as one of the closest races in the country, with millions of dollars in outside support coming in for both candidates.
The outcome of the race could ultimately decide which party wins control of the House of Representatives, which went to the Republican Party in 2022 by a razor thin margin.
To read where the two candidates stand on the issues, click here.
Min, who’s endorsed by Porter, has been a state senator for the past four years after beating then Senator John Moorlach.
[Read: ‘Sky Fell’: Is OC’s Old Brand of Conservative Republican Sunsetting?]
During his state Senate tenure, Min has repeatedly clashed with the conservative city council majority of Huntington Beach, writing bills and passing laws as a direct response to several of their policies and directing the state auditor’s office to investigate them.
[Read: State Auditors to Investigate Huntington Beach’s Pacific Airshow Settlement]
Baugh ran against Porter in the last election for the same seat and lost by a narrow margin after spending years out of public office, with his last elected position in the State Assembly ending in 2000.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @NBiesiada.
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