In the race for California’s open 47th congressional district, former Assemblymember Scott Baugh conceded to state Sen. Dave Min on Tuesday night, Nov. 12.
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Decision Desk HQ, which analyzes elections, called the race around 6:45 p.m.
The latest tally of votes from the Orange County Registrar of Voters Tuesday showed Min ahead with 50.92% of the vote. Nearly 6,000 votes separated the two in the race for the open seat now held by Rep. Katie Porter.
“It has become clear that despite running a strong campaign, connecting with voters and mobilizing an incredible volunteer effort — that effort is going to come up a little short,” Baugh said. “I was looking forward to working with Democrats, Republicans and President Trump to solve serious problems like an open border, increasing crime and runaway federal spending but the voters have spoken and this is not what is intended for me.”
In a statement Tuesday night, Min said that “as the child of immigrants who survived the Korean War, I owe everything I have to this country.”
“In Congress, I will carry on the fight to protect our democracy, safeguard our freedoms and expand the economic opportunity at the heart of the American dream,” he said. “You have my pledge on this — I will continue to stand up for our rights, including the reproductive rights of women, and to fight for a stronger and better future for young people, including creating more affordable housing, reducing gun violence and doing all we can to rescue our civilization from the climate crisis. The fight has just begun.”
With Porter, the three-time incumbent, not running for reelection after losing a bid for the U.S. Senate, the race became one of the nation’s most closely watched.
National Democrats counted on Min, who shares Porter’s progressive values and a background in law but lacks her name recognition or star power, to retain the seat. On the other hand, Republicans were optimistic that Baugh could flip the seat, particularly since he came close to defeating Porter in 2022 despite being significantly outspent.
Heading into Election Day, the district, which spans Orange County’s coastline and reaches inland to include Costa Mesa and Irvine, had the slimmest voter registration gap in the county, with almost equal numbers of registered Republicans and Democrats — Republicans holding an extremely narrow advantage — and nearly a quarter of registered voters without a party preference.
In this cycle, both candidates raised over $10 million combined, with additional millions poured into the race by super PACs and outside groups.
During his campaign, Baugh spoke about the effects of the fentanyl epidemic, a personal topic for him. His brother died in 2020 from opioid-induced cardiac arrest.
“We must take serious action with real solutions to protect our communities,” Baugh said on social media ahead of Election Day. “Lives depend on it.”
Although not as volatile as the race in the neighboring 45th district, the two candidates traded barbs all cycle, each trying to link the other to unpopular politicians from their respective parties.
In Orange County, there are still over 126,000 ballots remaining to be processed, according to the registrar’s most recent update. Results will continue to be tallied and updated every weekday until all ballots are counted.
