GOP incumbent Steven Choi has won reelection in the 68th Assembly District race against Democrat Melissa Fox, holding a seat for Republicans that Democrats had heavily targeted to flip this cycle.
Fox took a narrow lead as first returns came in, then Choi edged her out as as more ballots were counted on election night. As of Thursday evening, Choi had a bigger lead than there were ballots left to count in all of Orange County, with an edge of 15,695 votes and 9,073 ballots left to tally countywide.
Neither candidate had commented on the results as of Thursday evening, with Choi previously saying he’d wait until all votes were counted.
Heading into Election Day, forecasters were calling the race a toss-up.
Voter registration in the district reflects the county’s rapidly changing political landscape. Before the March primary, Republicans held a two point edge over Democrats. But in the past seven months, registration in AD-68 has flipped blue — though just barely, with Democrats recently holding an advantage of 410 in a district with more than 300,000 voters.
Fox also had a substantial financial advantage this election cycle. She raised $2.5 million and spent $2.4 million on her campaign while Choi, using cash from previous election cycles, had raised $802,118 and spent $1.1 million. Both candidates received more than half of their funds from state parties, with Fox banking $1.3 million from the California Democratic Party while Choi received $474,899 from the California Republican Party.
But Choi’s incumbency, name recognition and record in office gave him the edge, helping him handily fend off his Democratic challenger.
Choi, 76, is a Korean immigrant and former college professor with a doctorate in library sciences. He and his wife have two adult children and a grandson, and he still teaches at the local Kumon Learning Center near his home in Irvine.
Choi’s political career started in 1998, when he was elected to the board of the Irvine Unified School District. In 2004 he won a seat on the Irvine City Council and in 2016 he won his first term in the Assembly.
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During his two terms in Sacramento Choi has introduced bills to boost tax credits, make college more affordable, and protect crime victims. He’s most proud of passing AB 677, aimed at preventing child trafficking through international adoptions.
Fox, 52, has practiced law in Orange County for more than 25 years. Her community work helped her become the only Democrat to win a seat on the Irvine City Council in 2016.
Fox passed on running for reelection to city council so that she could run for this Assembly seat, where she campaigned on pushing for construction of more affordable housing, universal health care, more funding for schools and new environmental protections.
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