Democratic Club

by Mary Larson

LW contributor

The Democratic Club’s primary efforts for the remainder of the year continue to focus on the March 2024 Primary election.

LW’s 47th Congressional District, with no incumbent running, is one of three Orange County districts that could determine which of the major political parties controls the House of Representatives in the near future. This district includes Irvine, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach and Seal Beach. Democrats have a slight lead in voter registration: 35.6% of voters in the district compared to 33.9% for Republicans and 24.5% for no party preference.

Dave Min, a member of the California Senate, is a Democrat running in District 47. The LW Democratic Club has invited Min or his representative to be a guest speaker during the May membership meeting.

All three declared Democratic candidates for District 47—Min, Women for American Values and Ethics founder Joanna Weiss and Huntington Beach business owner Dom Jones—are scheduled to take part in several debates/forums in the coming months. The debates will take place on May 13 in Huntington Beach, sometime in July in Irvine and on Aug. 26 in Newport Beach.

Club members interested in carpooling to any of these events should contact Mary Tromp at 562-412-0898.

Scott Baugh, a former GOP Assembly leader, is one of the Republicans currently running in District 47. He already has campaign experience, having run against Porter in the 2022 midterm election. He has name identification among Republicans, as well as the backing of the Republican Party of Orange County.

Republican businessman Max Ukropina has also joined the race to replace Porter. The LW Democratic Club is also closely monitoring what is happening in neighboring congressional districts 40 and 45. Incumbents running in both districts are Republicans. Young Kim is running for re-election in OC’s District 40 and Michelle Steel is running for re-election in District 45.

••• The Democratic Club’s Information and Registration Booth outside Clubhouse 6 will be open on the first Tuesday of each month from 10:30 a.m.12:30 p.m.

For more in-depth reporting on issues and candidates, Democrats and supporters can subscribe to the LW Democratic Club’s free electronic newsletter by emailing democraticclubsblw@ gmail.com or calling 562-296-8521. People are asked to include their full contact information, as well as party affiliation, when signing up for the newsletter.