Democratic Rep. Katie Porter holds on to seat in tightly fought Orange County race
Republican Katie Porter holds onto the congressional seat she fought for in 2016 by about 3,000 votes out of nearly 100,000 cast on Wednesday after a night of heated debate in a drawn out election.
With less than a week to the deadline for signatures, the race was shaping up as a pivotal referendum on President Donald Trump’s administration and Congress.
Porter, a former federal prosecutor and public servant, faced three Democrats seeking to replace retiring Rep. Mimi Walters, who is up for re-election in November.
But the contest is far from settled: As of Wednesday, there were about 10,000 provisional ballots out there, plus some people had left their names off the rolls.
With so many voters still unsure of their ballots’ authenticity, the election is still in doubt and it may be a few days before we even know who wins.
Here’s a breakdown of where each candidate stands on Election Day.
Republican
Hoping to be the GOP candidate in Orange County and a swing seat in the House, Porter faces three Democratic challengers — all veteran members of Congress and candidates with high name ID.
In one corner of the crowded field is former Reps. Darrell Issa, a Republican from Vista (who lost to Porter in 2016) and Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from Huntington Beach (who lost to Walters in the 2016 election).
At the other end of the table is former U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, an Orange County Republican who lost his bid for Orange County sheriff to Joe Arpaio in 2016 and his first bid for his congressional seat in 2018.
Here’s what Porter has said in response to the primary challenges:
On Democrats
“It’s one of the biggest elections in America. It’s been a tough grind. … A lot of these individuals are going to have to go through a lot of campaign finance and get out there and earn the trust