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Who’s running, so far, for Orange County’s state senate and assembly seats in 2022?

With 16 months until the next primary election, multiple candidates already have expressed interest in running for four of the 10 state seats from Orange County that will be on the ballot in 2022.

There are some new faces in the mix. At least one race — for the 74th Assembly District — will see a rematch from November. And there are some other familiar names also on the potential roster of candidates, including a sitting county supervisor and one contender with a long history in O.C. politics.

For now, probably the biggest unknown is who will wind up running in the 36th Senate District, where State Sen. Pat Bates will term out at the end of this session.

In the 2020 cycle, Democrats flipped both State Senate districts that were on the ballot, giving the party four of the five senate seats that touch Orange County. (State senate terms last four years, with two O.C. seats up during presidential years and three up during midterm elections.) If they manage to take SD-36 next year, Democrats could, for the first time, hold all five of the county’s State Senate seats.

Republicans did flip two House seats in November. And they came close to reclaiming AD-74, though in the end the seven Assembly seats that cover portions of Orange County stayed in control of the incumbent party, leaving the GOP with a 4-3 local advantage over Democrats. All seven Assembly seats are up again in 2022.

Here’s a look at who’s in the early running for the State Senate and Assembly seats that cover portions of Orange County.

GOP looking at 34th Senate District

State Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, is poised to run for the 34th District for a second time — assuming he isn’t tapped to be California’s new Attorney General.

The former Army colonel, federal prosecutor and three-term Assemblyman narrowly won the solidly blue seat in 2018 with 50.6% of the vote. He closed out 2020 with $416,427 in campaign cash.

So far, three Republicans have signaled possible challenges for a district that covers northwest Orange County, from Huntington Beach to Seal Beach and east to Orange. But just one of those potential candidates, Amy Phan West, of Westminster, is officially in the race.

Last year, West ran for Congress, hoping to beat out incumbent Rep. Alan Lowenthal for CA-47. She raised more money than any of the five challengers in that race, but finished third and failed to advance out of the March primary.

West, 39, runs a rental car company with her husband and has served as a commissioner of OC Parks. She’s been an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump, and campaigned last year on a conservative platform of immigration reform and school choice, while also expressing support for some efforts to ease homelessness. She hasn’t reported any fundraising yet for this cycle.

Assemblywoman Janet Nguyen, who lost her 2018 bid for SD-34 to Umberg by just 3,089 votes, is only three months removed from a November 2020 win in the 72nd Assembly District. But she also has a committee open to run again for SD-34. She didn’t respond to requests about what seat, if any, she plans to seek in 2022.

Another Republican with a committee open to a possible run for SD-34 is Jim Silva, a former Huntington Beach mayor, county supervisor and Assembly member. Silva’s wife, Connie Silva, who’s listed as his campaign treasurer, said he hasn’t yet decided if he’ll launch an SD-34 campaign. As of Dec. 31, he had $38,166 in his campaign fund, with donations rolled over from previous election cycles.

Open 36th Senate District race

In 2022, the race for the GOP-leaning 36th District State Senate seat — which covers the coastal portions of southern Orange County and northern San Diego County — will be open. The Republican incumbent, state Sen. Pat Bates, will be termed out.

So far, two Democrats are already in the race.

One is Priya Bhat-Patel, who in 2018 became the youngest person, at 31, and the first Indian American, to win a council seat the conservative city of Carlsbad.

For her SD-36 campaign, Bhat-Patel is pitching herself as a problem solver who will work across the aisle on issues such as the public health and economic crises triggered by Covid-19, increasing funding for education, and defending the environment from corporate polluters. She reported raising $80,854 for her campaign in 2020, with $72,393 in cash left at the end of the year.

The other Democrat in the race is Mark Ankcorn. He also lives in Carlsbad, though as a former deputy district attorney in Orange County who now works in the San Diego City Attorney’s consumer protection division, he has ties to both counties.

Ankcorn is campaigning on helping families get through the COVID-19 crisis, leveling the playing field for small business, relying on science to protect public health and fighting for public schools to better prepare kids for the new world. Ankcorn’s campaign raised $14,450 last year and had $7,290 in cash as of Dec. 31.

On the Republican side, O.C. Supervisor Lisa Bartlett of Dana Point has had a committee open to run for the SD-36 seat for some time. She hasn’t formally launched a campaign, but her SD-36 campaign raised $17,750 and had $47,016 in cash at the end of the year with funds rolled over from other election cycles.

Former GOP Assemblyman Bill Brough of Dana Point also has a committee open to run for SD-36, though it’s not clear whether he intends to mount a campaign for the seat.

Brough lost his AD-72 seat in the March primary after allegations of sexual misconduct and misuse of campaign funds tanked his political career. His first public accuser was Bartlett, who in July 2019 said Brough had made aggressive sexual advances when they were on the Dana Point City Council together in 2011.

He’s now under investigation by the Sacramento Police Department for a rape allegation filed in December, and he remains under investigation by the Fair Political Practices Commission for campaign expenditures.

Rematch possible in 72nd Assembly District

If Assemblywoman Janet Nguyen doesn’t run for state senate, the Fountain Valley Republican also has a committee open to run for reelection to the 72nd Assembly District, which covers northwestern Orange County. And, if she does run, it’s possible she’ll face off again against former GOP Assemblyman Tyler Diep.

Last year, when Nguyen won the district, which leans red by about 2.5 points, she had to beat Diep in the March primary. Diep had lost the support of the local Republican Party after casting union-friendly votes in Sacramento that were deemed “incongruent’ with the GOP platform.

So far, Diep is the only person to open a committee aimed at possibly challenging Nguyen for the AD-72 seat in 2022.

Diep said Wednesday that he hasn’t yet made a decision on whether he will run for anything in 2022. He wants to see what happens when legislative boundaries are redrawn later this year during redistricting. If AD-72 ends up including more of inland O.C. or stretches into southern L.A. County, voter registration could flip to blue, possibly making the seat less attractive — that is, if Diep remains a GOP candidate.

After the party shunned him last year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Diep follow in the footsteps of former GOP legislators such as Chad Mayes and become an independent.

“The Republican Party is going through a lot of soul searching,” Diep said when asked about his party allegiance. “I’m interested to see how Liz Cheney will be treated for voting her conscience and if we as a party even have the tolerance for a difference in opinion.”

Familiar challengers in 74th Assembly District

Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Laguna Beach, could well face two familiar GOP challengers in her bid for a third term representing the 74th District.

Newport Beach Councilwoman Diane Dixon and Orange County deputy district attorney Kelly Ernby, who both ran for AD-74 in 2020, have opened committees to run for the seat again in 2022.

Dixon beat Ernby in the 2020 primary, with 25.2% of the vote to Ernby’s 22.4%. In November, Petrie-Norris narrowly beat Dixon with 50.5% of the vote.

Dixon is committed to running again next year, while Ernby said she’s waiting to see what happens with redistricting.

“I do have my committee established, so I am prepared to run if it makes sense once the new districts are set,” Ernby said.

The coastal district that stretches from Huntington Beach to Laguna Beach also includes much of Irvine, and voter registration trends show it is on pace to flip to blue soon under its current boundaries. As of Thursday, Feb. 4, the district had just 464 more registered Republicans than Democrats.

Six state seats unchallenged

Only incumbents so far have opened committees to run in these local legislative seats in 2022, but all figure to attract challengers:

– 32nd Senate District: State Sen. Bob Archuleta, D-Pico Rivera

– 55th Assembly District: Assemblyman Phillip Chen, R-Brea

– 65th Assembly District: Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton

– 68th Assembly District: Assemblyman Steven Choi, R-Irvine

– 69th Assembly District: Assemblyman Tom Daly, D-Anaheim

– 73rd Assembly District: Assemblywoman Laurie Davies, R-Laguna Niguel


Source: Orange County Register

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