But that’s not to say that Orange County is suddenly safe Republican territory again, Patterson added.
“It has turned into quite the battleground,” she said.
State Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks agreed. He said even though the demographics of Orange County are moving in Democrat’s direction, as the county becomes more Latino, less white and younger, the region is likely to remain a political battleground.
“The seats that we picked up in 2018 were hard, hard fought then, and they’re hard fought now. And I truly believe that they will be hard fought in two years,” he said.
Smoller, the political science professor, also predicted more flipping back and forth between the parties in the future.
Rouda for one, has already announced he will challenge Steel again in 2022.
“Obviously, any freshman who wins by less than one point, in the case of Michelle Steele … they will have to be very careful,” Smoller said, “And obviously, you know, everyone in Congress, but particularly the freshmen, are going to be looking over their shoulders.”