ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — Katrina Foley is poised to take the Orange County Second District Supervisor’s seat in Tuesday’s special election after opponent John Moorlach conceded shortly after 10 p.m.
Foley, the mayor of Costa Mesa, will be the first Democrat woman to serve on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
Foley was announced as the Democratic party nominee shortly after the former office holder, Michelle Steel, announced she would vacate it. Steel moved on to her current office as the U.S. Rep. for California’s 48th Congressional district. Foley will now finish the term Steel began, which ends in 2022.
Republicans held the registration advantage in the coastal district, but their chances of holding it were in serious doubt. Moorlach, a two-term state senator, had previously served on the board of supervisors and was the runaway favorite. But once he was endorsed by the party, others rebelled.
Inside the party, other candidates considered Moorlach unelectable and were frustrated that leadership endorsed him so early. The party chairman, Fred Whitaker, had talked several others out of the race, including Will O’Neil, a Newport Beach city councilmember. Another Newport Beach councilmember, Kevin Muldoon, could not be swayed. He received high-profile endorsements from big fundraisers like Palmer Luckey and the board of supervisors chairman Andrew Do.
Muldoon’s support got him about 10,700 votes and fellow Republican Michael Vo took over 8,600. Combined with Moorlach’s more than 29,600, Republicans would have had enough to keep the seat.
In a late-night text message Moorlach wrote, “When two other Republicans enter a special election, they only hurt their party.” He also called his fellow party members' choice to run “impetuous.”
Foley attributed her win not to the GOP’s internecine strife, but her campaign message.
“I ran a great campaign,” she said. “We got votes from all parties. Nobody handed me anything. I worked very hard on this for the last three months.”
She said the campaign had 700 committed, active volunteers, including a late surge of activity from 180 campaigners the Saturday before the election.
Foley’s victory is decisive, with 42,347 votes or more than 44% of ballots cast. And she had her own insurgent candidate to contend with. Janet Rappaport, a corporate tax attorney, jumped into the race and pulled in about 4,200 votes.
The majority of votes came through mail-in ballots, with a small number, 5,671, cast in person at vote centers. More than 90,000 votes came by mail, with about 24% of the district participating in the election.
When the polls closed at 8 p.m. Foley was leading Moorlach 41,117 to 26,753. His camp had hoped for a big turnout of in-person voters that never materialized.
Foley campaigned on a platform of COVID-19 relief and expanding affordable health care. She’s taken to the airwaves to promote a super Point of Dispensing (POD) site at the OC Fair & Events Center. As mayor, she has contributed to partnerships for homeless shelters and campaigned for affordable housing. As job losses have mounted in the service and hospitality industries, Foley has advocated for education and job training.
She said among her first priorities is ensuring COVID-19 federal stimulus money is spent in a transparent fashion.