Spitzer Leads OCDA Race By Huge Margin In 2022 Primary: Early Results

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA — The polls are closed in Rancho Santa Margarita, and the Orange County Registrar of Voters is scheduled to announce election results or whether there will be runoff races for OC's District Attorney's office and certain seats on the Orange County Board of Supervisors 5 p.m. Wednesday.

If no candidate in those races received more than 50 percent of the vote, then the top two vote-getters will head to a Nov. 8 runoff election.

As of 10 a.m. and with one hundred precincts reporting, incumbent District Attorney Todd Spitzer had a significant lead in the race to determine who will be Orange County's next district attorney, according to preliminary results from the Orange County Registrar of Voters.

Spitzer led with 64.30 percent of the vote while challenger Pete Hardin was a distant second at 18.69 percent. Bryan Chehock had 8.76 percent of the vote while Michael A. Jacobs received 8.25 percent.

The Los Angeles Times reported that California Sen. Alex Padilla clinched a spot on the November ballot.

Republican attorney Mark Meuser is anticipated to advance to the November ballot as well, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Three Orange County cities voted on local ballot measures.

Results show with 100 percent of precincts reporting Newport Beach and Westminster are poised to reject changes to their mayor positions.

As of 10 a.m., 58.66 percent of voters in Newport Beach voted against Measure B, which would allow residents to directly elect the mayor. Around 59.63 percent of Westminster residents voted against eliminating Measure C, which would have eliminated the elected mayor position and add a City Council seat.

Early results show that 66.32 percent of voters in Huntington Beach approve of Measure A, which would impose a cannabis business tax if and when the city allows recreational marijuana.

In the District 5 race, current District 2 Sup. Katrina Foley edged to a lead with 40.94 percent of votes with 100 percent of precincts reporting, and Sen. Pat Bates following with 23.11 percent. The two will likely face off in the November runoff election.

In the District 4 race, Buena Park Mayor Sunny Park had 35.47 percent of votes with 100 of precincts reporting. She may face incumbent Doug Chaffee, who followed her with 33.35 percent of votes, into the November runoff election.

In the District 2 race, Santa Ana Mayor Vicente Sarmiento won 31.63 percent of votes with 100 percent of precincts reporting. He will likely face Garden Grove Councilmember Kim Bernice Nguyen in the November runoff.

Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Don Barnes was elected to a new term after running unopposed.

Here's the June 7, 2022 Statewide Direct Primary Election Results Reporting Schedule, as per the Orange County Registrar of Voters.

• Tuesday, June 7 - 8:05 p.m. - First Election Night unofficial results
  • Vote-by-mail ballots only.
• Tuesday, June 7 - 9:30 p.m. - First unofficial results from in-person voting.
• Tuesday, June 7 - 10 p.m. - Second unofficial results from in-person voting.
• Tuesday, June 7 - 10:30 p.m. - Final unofficial results from in-person voting (tentative).
• Wednesday, June 8 - 5 p.m. - First election results update after Election Day.

Scroll to the bottom of this story for real-time Orange County election results.

Click here to track your ballot and make sure it is counted.

As of April, the California Secretary of State reported that 26,948,297 Californians were registered to vote, which accounts for almost 82 percent of the state's eligible voting population.

Not surprisingly, there are far more registered Democrats than Republicans in the state, with 46.75 percent for the former and 23.92 percent for the latter. GOP registration in the state has been dropping steadily, a trend that shows no sign of slowing down even as Republican registration climbed at the national level over the last year.

In Orange County, the rate of voter registration is high. As of June, 1,810,317 residents were registered to vote— with 37.4 percent of voters registered as Democrats, 33.33 percent as Republicans and 23.6 percent as no party preference.

Voter turnout is not expected to be as high this primary season, especially without highly competitive statewide races.

REAL-TIME RESULTS

Real-time results are below — use the scroll on the right and the "customize viewing results" box to select the race of your choice. Patch will be updating the results throughout the night as votes are tallied — refresh the page for the latest updates.

Can't see the widget below? Click here for all Orange County election results.

For a complete guide to statewide races, see the CalMatters California Election 2022 Voter Guide.