Democrats outnumber Republicans in Orange County, California for the first time in decades.
The region, a longtime Republican bastion, now has more Democrats than Republicans, according to data released Wednesday by the county registrar. There are now 547,458 Democrats compared to 547,369 Republicans who are registered to vote in Orange County.
The last time Democrats outnumbered Republicans was in 1978. The county, where Richard Nixon was born and raised and which helped fuel Ronald Reagan’s political rise, has been swaying left in recent years.
Democratic candidates won four Republican-held congressional seats in Orange County in the 2018 midterm elections. Hillary Clinton beat President Trump there in the 2016 presidential election.
Democratic leaders connected the shift to changing demographics and backlash against Trump.
“Trump’s toxic rhetoric and exclusionary policies alienate women, millennials, suburban voters, immigrants and people of color — critical components of the electorate in Orange County,” Katerina Ioannides, chairwoman of the Orange County Young Democrats, told the Los Angeles Times.
Shawn Steel, Republican national committeeman for California, argued the flip could be attributed to Republicans leaving the state because of housing costs, poor schools, and a lack of job opportunities.
