Orange County's 39th district up for grabs
It has long been a red stronghold in the heart of blue California, but with the retirement of incumbent Congressman Ed Royce, the Golden State's 39th District is open.
After a chaotic primary, Republican Young Kim and Democrat Gil Cisneros have emerged and will contest the seat in the general election.
The 39th contains Orange County cities such as Yorba Linda, Fullerton, and northern Placentia. The primary election was contested between 17 different hopefuls, through time-tested means of outreach like flyer printing and banner printing, as well as social media and even the courts.
Due to California's electoral system, where the top two vote-getters advance regardless of party, many Democrats -- seeing the district as a vital potential pick-up in the 2018 midterms - feared that their vote could be split among the six Democratic candidates and their party shut out of the general election.
That didn't happen, with Cisneros securing a roughly 6, 000 vote advantage over third-place Republican Phil Liberatore. Cisneros is a former Navy officer who used part of the $266m he won through the lottery in 2010 to fund his campaign. Kim is a former Assemblywoman who received the most overall votes in the primary.
The 39th is now projected as a ‘Lean D’ seat by the Cook Political Report, but the general election campaign looks certain to be hotly contested, and could receive national attention.
After a chaotic primary, Republican Young Kim and Democrat Gil Cisneros have emerged and will contest the seat in the general election.
The 39th contains Orange County cities such as Yorba Linda, Fullerton, and northern Placentia. The primary election was contested between 17 different hopefuls, through time-tested means of outreach like flyer printing and banner printing, as well as social media and even the courts.
Due to California's electoral system, where the top two vote-getters advance regardless of party, many Democrats -- seeing the district as a vital potential pick-up in the 2018 midterms - feared that their vote could be split among the six Democratic candidates and their party shut out of the general election.
That didn't happen, with Cisneros securing a roughly 6, 000 vote advantage over third-place Republican Phil Liberatore. Cisneros is a former Navy officer who used part of the $266m he won through the lottery in 2010 to fund his campaign. Kim is a former Assemblywoman who received the most overall votes in the primary.
The 39th is now projected as a ‘Lean D’ seat by the Cook Political Report, but the general election campaign looks certain to be hotly contested, and could receive national attention.