Orange County, in historic first, now has more registered Democrats than Republicans

[DBoon]

Source: LA Times

Orange County, long a Republican stronghold, has officially turned blue.

The county that nurtured Ronald Reagan’s conservatism and is the resting place of Richard Nixon is now home to 547,458 registered Democrats, compared with 547,369 Republicans, according to statistics released early Wednesday morning by the county Registrar of Voters. And the number of voters not aligned with a political party has surged in recent years, and now tops 440,770, or 27.4% of the county’s voters.

Democratic leaders attributed the shift to changing demographics, aggressive recruitment efforts and President Trump.

“Trump’s toxic rhetoric and exclusionary policies alienate women, millennials, suburban voters, immigrants and people of color — critical components of the electorate in Orange County,” said Katerina Ioannides, chairwoman of the Orange County Young Democrats, which conducted voter registration drives aimed at young voters, one of several groups that worked to increase party registration. “The Republican Party’s platform no longer resonates in a rapidly diversifying, increasingly college-educated Orange County.”

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-08-07/orange-county-turns-blue-with-more-registered-democrats-than-republicans

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Long time coming...

[dalton99a]

1. "They see the Republican Party as intolerant old white men"

It is the party of corrupt racist assholes

[Initech]

3. And there are a lot of those where I live!

Thankfully they are going away, hopefully.

[Zambero]

2. And the OC Congressional delegation is now 6-0 Dem

Up from 2-4 before the midterms. Given the near-parity in voter registration between the two major political parties, it appears that a majority of the county's independent voters have also had it with the Trump-era GOP. Hopefully come 2020 it will be the last hurrah for Duncan Hunter in adjacent San Diego County.

[lagomorph777]

5. Fuckin' Hunter is doomed

[BigmanPigman]

21. Carl DeMaio is going to run in Hunter's district.

"Former San Diego City Councilmember, longtime Taxpayer Advocate, and radio host, Carl DeMaio made a big announcement on Monday."

"He became the latest candidate to throw his hat into the ring for the 50th Congressional seat held by Congressman Duncan D. Hunter."

"In a statement announcing his candidacy for the 50th Congressional District seat, DeMaio framed the decision to run as one of “fight or flight.”



https://www.kusi.com/carl-demaio-explains-his-decision-to-announce-his-candidacy-for-the-50th-congressional-district/

[Dave Starsky]

4. Maybe they can finally rename that fucking John Wayne Airport.

Michelle Pfeiffer Airport has a nice ring to it.

[BuddhaGirl]

6. How about "No Doubt Airport"

[DBoon]

10. "Gwen Stefani International Airport"

nice!

[BuddhaGirl]

12. +1

[not fooled]

15. I'd be OK

with Marion Mitchell Morrison* Airport, too.


*"John Wayne's" birth name

[Dave Starsky]

16. That clown wasn't even from Orange County.

He was born in Iowa. He just lived in OC for a long time.

At least Michelle Pfeiffer and Gwen Stefani are homegrown local legends.

[sdfernando]

19. It needs to be renamed Barack Obama Orange County airport

And I think that one in Washington National Airport should be changed to Barack Obama National Airport.

[murielm99]

7. That is not a very large margin.

The better get out and vote - all of them!

[SunSeeker]

8. BAM! SO proud of my Orange County!

[IronLionZion]

9. Good work Dems! Do Texas and Florida next

[Auggie]

11. Fantastic news!

[jpak]

13. K&R

[question everything]

14. Many of the elected officials, at least, were Democrats in the 70s

And then they succumbed to Reagan..

[DBoon]

18. Wrong orange county

This is CA, not FL

[lostnfound]

20. Sorry! That was dopey of me! Nt

[DBoon]

22. Today, Orange County CA. Tomorrow, Orange County FL.

We can hope

[riversedge]

23. Hillary and other Dems won in Orange cty last few election cycles...........

Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump here by nearly 5 percentage points in the 2016 presidential election, the first time a Democrat won the county since the Great Depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt won Orange County in his 1936 contest against challenger Alf Landon.

In 2018, Democrats flipped four Republican-held congressional seats in the county — wins that were key to the party taking control of the House of Representatives.

Matthew Harper, a former Republican state assemblyman from Huntington Beach who lost his seat to a Democrat by 5 percentage points in 2018, noted that Democrats had success in Orange County in the past.

[DrToast]

24. California is the canary in the coal mine for the GOP