Katrina Foley, the mayor of the city of Costa Mesa, California, won a special election Tuesday and flipped an Orange County supervisor seat that had been controlled by Republicans since 1894.
The five-member board had long been considered a Republican stronghold, where the party had a four-to-one advantage, according to the Washington Examiner. Foley received 43.72% of the vote, while the Republican candidate John Moorlach, a former state senator, earned 31.44% of the vote.
Two other Republicans, Kevin Muldoon and Michael Vo, also ran for the seat. Muldoon received 11.48% and Vo 9.03%.
“If the two confused Republicans weren’t in the race, I would be ahead right now,” Moorlach told the Daily Pilot prior to the election, expressing dismay at the challengers.
4,003 voters voted in-person on Election Day for the 2nd Supervisorial District Vacancy Election, with a total of 5,672 in-person voters.
Visit https://t.co/di9yYLPeXy for unofficial results; refer to the countdown timer for the next update. pic.twitter.com/OIoS908nzz
— OC Registrar (@OCRegistrar) March 10, 2021
Foley explained her win, citing pandemic policy.
“I ran on a platform of recovering from COVID, particularly getting this vaccine distributed in a more efficient manner so we could get back to our normal lives — I think that is what people want overwhelmingly,” Foley told the Orange County Register. (RELATED: ‘If I Wasn’t President, You Wouldn’t Be Getting That Beautiful Shot’: Trump Credits Himself For Vaccine)
The Costa Mesa City Council can fill Foley’s vacant mayoral seat by appointing a replacement within 60 days, otherwise a special election is triggered, according to the Register.