This week’s primary election sets up an historic first in Orange County politics: a November supervisor run-off between two Democrats who are bona fide candidates of the progressive Left, Santa Ana Mayor Vince Sarmiento and Garden Grove Councilmember Kim Bernice Nguyen.
There have been Democrat v. Democrat supervisor run-offs in Orange County before. In 2004, then-Assemblyman Lou Correa beat Garden Grove Mayor Bruce Broadwater in a contest between two moderate Democrats.
Dumitru had a strong ballot title but conducted little voter contact. Iglesias walked neighborhoods and dropped off campaign literature, and was endorsed by the OC Register. Villegas sent out some mailer spotlighting his background as a military and law enforcement veteran and his endorsements from Supervisors Don Wagner and Andrew Do.
Iglesias ran extremely strong among those who cast their ballots at Vote Centers:
Sarmiento raised nearly $157,000, according to the most recent campaign disclosures. He was also aided by more than $100,000 from independent expenditures committees funded by his sister, brother-in-law, business partners and Santa Ana business interests.
Nguyen raised about $85,000, and the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriff’s spent $139,077 in support of her candidacy.
Although both Nguyen and Sarmiento hail from the increasingly-dominant progressive wing of the Democratic Party, their respective attitudes toward law enforcement will likely serve as a dividing line between them.
When seeking the Democratic Party of Orange County endorsement, Sarmiento boasted to party members that he has diverted resources from the Santa Ana police into community programs. He has also tied himself to radical racial identity groups like CHISPA.
While Nguyen has been vocal on social justice issues and her belief in the necessity of tackling “systemic racism,” she has been more nuanced in her approach to law enforcement issues.
The suspicions of woke social justice activists have been aroused by the fact of the AOCDS’ active support for her candidacy. For example, in response to a Voice of OC question about her views on cooperation between the OC Sheriff’s Department and ICE, Nguyen stated that if elected to the Board of Supervisors, she would ask Sheriff Barnes for a review of all ICE transfers, and “support transfers of the most dangerous criminals who are a clear threat to public safety.”
This prompted Tracy La, leader of the radical non-profit Viet Rise, to denounce Nguyen and accuse her of “throwing immigrant communities under the for political gain.”
La also tweeted her excitement over Sarmiento making it to the run-off:
