Nguyen to Take Over Andrew Do's OC Supervisor Seat

State Sen. Janet Nguyen, R-Huntington Beach, defeated Democratic Cypress City Councilwoman Frances Marquez Tuesday in the battle to claim the seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors previously held by Andrew Do, who resigned last week and pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge.

Although ballots were still being tallied, Nguyen had claimed more than 62% of the vote as of late Tuesday night, compared to 38% for Marquez.

Do was once Nguyen's chief of staff when she served on the Board of Supervisors, before he was elected to the Garden Grove City Council, then won a special election for Orange County supervisor when Nguyen became a state lawmaker.

The Board of Supervisors currently includes three Democrats: Katrina Foley, Vicente Sarmiento and Doug Chaffee. If Marquez had won the race for Do's former seat, Chairman Don Wagner would have been the only Republican remaining. Wagner secured his position outright in the primary, avoiding a general election challenge.

Do was already set to be termed out of office at the end of the year, but he agreed to resign last week as part of a plea deal with federal and local prosecutors over an investigation into county COVID relief funds awarded to a nonprofit that employed Do's daughter.

In another closely watched Orange County race, Republican 74th District Assemblywoman Laurie Davies was holding a narrow lead over Democrat Chris Duncan, a San Clemente City Councilman and former federal prosecutor. The district covers south Orange County and San Diego County.

As of late Tuesday, Davies had 51% of the vote, while Duncan had 49%.

The race between District 37 state Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, and former Irvine Mayor Steven Choi was also too close to call.

The latest returns showed Newman with 51% of the vote, and Choi with 49%.