LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. — Dialing the phone numbers of strangers, and trying to convince people to vote may not be the most exciting job, but Lara Horgan makes it fun. She’s trying to get Orange County voters to re-elect Congressman Harley Rouda, who took the office after almost 30 years of it being held by Republicans in what has always been traditional GOP territory. 

“We are not gonna stop until the last vote is counted,” said Horgan.

“Harley Rouda won his primary in 2018 by 143 votes. So we never know what’s gonna be the vote that’s gonna make the difference.”

Horgan’s not working alone. She and other volunteers are all connected virtually as they try to call as many voters as possible before Tuesday.

During the primaries she was campaigning hard for Amy Klobuchar, who had a fundraiser at her house. Of course, now she’s all about Biden, but her concentration is the congressional race.

“California is definitely gonna go for Joe Biden. It doesn’t make any difference whether Orange County goes for Joe Biden,” Horgan added.

“The rest of Orange County will. It’s the bottom of the ticket that will make all the difference.”

She doesn’t want Republican Michelle Steel to win the seat, because for decades the GOP had district 48 on lock. That was before Rouda’s election in 2018.

“And the rule was, unless you state otherwise, you’re assumed to be Republican in Orange County, so I didn’t even know which of my friends were Republicans and which were Democrats,” Horgan explained.

“It wasn’t until Donald Trump was elected, we found out.”

Now, she and her group of volunteers are proud to be Democrats, and they are working to ensure that Harley Rouda doesn’t have to say goodbye to Congress anytime soon.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The video in this story has been updated to include a reaction from the campaign of Rep. Rouda's opponent, Republican Michelle Steel. (November 2, 2020)