Democrats Make Leads In OC Election Races: Results

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Democratic candidates running in two House races in Orange County increased their leads Monday and a third made significant gains in his race as votes continue to be tallied, according to the Orange County Registrar.

In the race for California's 45th Congressional District — covering both Orange and Los Angeles county cities including Fullerton, Los Alamitos, Lakewood, Fountain Valley and more — the latest Monday evening count released by the Registrar shows Rep. Michelle Steel leading Democratic attorney Derek Tran in a narrow race.

Steel holds 50.7 percent of the vote, but Tran has gained on the deficit from 7,590 votes last week to around 4,000 votes by Monday evening.

In California's 47th Congressional District — which covers Irvine, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Seal Beach — Sen. Dave Min maintained his slim lead over Assemblymember Scott Baugh.

The Irvine Democrat currently maintains a narrow — but widening lead of 50.2 percent.

The race to see who will represent California's 49th Congressional District — which contains portions of both south Orange County and north San Diego — remained too close to call Tuesday.

Rep. Mike Levin, a San Juan Capistrano Democrat, holds 52 percent of the vote.

He maintains a lead over businessman Matt Gunderson, a Republican from Ladera Ranch.

The three races have drawn national attention recently as the battle over which party will control the House of Representatives remains to be seen.

According to the OC Registrar, in Orange County alone, there are more than 173,000 ballots left to process as of Monday.