Min Leads Baugh in Battle for Congressional Seat in California’s Orange

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Preliminary results show Democrat Dave Min ahead of Republican Scott Baugh by 10 points.

Democratic state Sen. Dave Min is leading Republican Scott Baugh with 55.2 percent of the vote in California’s 47th Congressional District, according to unofficial preliminary results released by the California Secretary of State as of 9:14 p.m. on Nov. 5.

Preliminary election results of District 47 of California's U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 5, 2024. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times) — Preliminary election results of District 47 of California’s U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 5, 2024. Sophie Li/The Epoch Times

In the March 5 state primary, Baugh won the top spot with 32.1 percent of the vote over Min’s 25.9 percent in the 10-candidate race. In California’s “open” or “jungle” primary system, only the top two vote-getters—regardless of party affiliation—advance to the general election.

Democrat Katie Porter currently represents the district, which includes the Orange County cities of Irvine, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, and Seal Beach. Porter did not seek reelection to the House. Instead, she chose to run for the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by late Sen. Dianne Feinstein but lost in the primary to U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat, and Republican candidate Steve Garvey, a former star baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Porter’s term ends Jan. 3, 2025.

Porter, first elected to Congress in 2018, narrowly defeated Baugh in 2022 with 51.7 percent of the vote. Baugh lost by 9,113 votes of the total 265,635.

Min was an assistant law professor at the University of California–Irvine before he was elected to the state senate in 2020. He defeated then-Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley in the primary, and then incumbent Republican John Moorlach in the general election. His term in the Senate ends on Dec. 2.

In a 2023, Ballotpedia candidate survey, Min said his three key messages are abortion and contraception access, gun violence prevention, and “taking bold action to address the climate crisis.” He is endorsed by the California Democratic Party, the Los Angeles Times, and Equality California. Min says he has “100 percent ratings” from Planned Parenthood and Sierra Club, and boasts of his “F rating” from the National Rifle Association.

A business attorney, former longtime chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, and former state Assembly Republican leader, Baugh was endorsed by the California GOP, the Lincoln Club of Orange County, the National Federation of Independent Business, and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, among several other prominent Republicans.

In the most recent census, California lost a congressional district for the first time in its history but still holds the most of any state, with 52 districts. In 2022, Republicans gained two seats and Democrats lost one, leaving Democrats with a 40-12 majority in California’s congressional delegation.