Republican and Los Alamitos Mayor Pro Tem Troy Edgar has thrown his hat in the ring for California’s 47th Congressional Seat. With Edgar in the race, there are now three Republicans and one Democrat vying to represent Long Beach and a portion of West Orange County in Washington DC.
Running against Edgar are fellow Republicans Long Beach City councilman, Gary Delong, and Long Beach Republican insider, Steve Kuykendall. The three Republicans will fight it out against the only Democrat in the race so far, Long Beach State Senator, Alan Lowenthal.
The four candidates will go head to head in the June primary, with the top two vote getters moving to the November general election. With California’s new primary rules, it doesn’t matter from which party the two final candidates hail. Thus, it could be two Republicans fighting it out in November.
With Edgar in the race, there is one candidate from the east side of the 605 freeway. The other three politicians have their power bases in Long Beach. The entrance of these four candidates in the race for U.S. Congress is a result of California’s redistricting, which pushed Ed Royce, the long time representative from much of the area, into another race.
Since congressional incumbents usually have an overpowering advantage, they are not frequently challenged by outsiders. But in this election cycle, the newly formed Congressional District for Long Beach and West Orange County is the result of such a major upheaval in old district lines that there is no incumbent to dominate the race.
“I’m very excited about the race,” Edgar told OC180NEWS. “I’ve followed this district being formed all the way through the redistricting process. As soon as it got where it was almost final, I was able to get into the details and the data of where the votes are and there’s a clear path for a conservative from Orange County to win the seat, that’s why I’m really excited.
Just as Edgar will need to get known in Long Beach, the three other candidates will need to make themselves known east of the freeway. According to Edgar, the population is 60% in Long Beach and 40% in West OC, but that’s not his path to victory.
“About 54% of the Republican votes are in Orange County,” Edgar told OC180NEWS. “So, this race will be about the primary.”
District-wide, Democrats have about a ten percent advantage in registered voters. So, with only one Democrat in the race, there’s a pretty good chance Lowenthal will make it to the November general election.
“There will not be a splitting of votes on the Democrat side,” Edgar said. “It will all come down to the second place slot. With two guys nestled in Long Beach who are going to fight for the Republican Long Beach vote, they will split it. But with 54% of the [total district-wide] Republican votes located in Orange County, that’s where I see my path to victory.”
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About Dolores Barr, Publisher
Dolores Barr has lived in Rossmoor since 1992 and has created this site to provide local news for the people of Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Rossmoor, Leisure World, Sunset Beach, and Surfside, California. My husband and I have had two students graduate from the Los Alamitos Unified School District and currently our Grandson, Ricky Apodaca, grade 3 at Weaver Elementary, is actively involved in youth baseball through LAYB and youth football through FNL.
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