Orange County is still tallying votes, but overall, the results are clear — O.C. is more purple (purple- er ?) than ever. LAist talked to political scientists and analyzed trends to come up with five big takeaways from the November election results in this political middle-ground. Here goes:
O.C. is the purplest of purple
In some of the biggest races, ballots are nearly evenly split between the Democrat and Republican candidate. It appears some voters also “split tickets.” For example, as of last count, a slim majority wanted Democrat Kamala Harris to represent them in the White House and Republican Steve Garvey to rep the state in the Senate. Garvey has also gotten more votes than President-elect Donald Trump.
This kind of ticket-splitting, among other factors, makes O.C. one the purplest counties in the U.S., said Jon Gould, a political science professor at the University of California Irvine. Gould said O.C., with its shifting demographics, and especially its large population of non-white, college-educated voters, is a glimpse of where the nation is headed.