- Find out more about the races below.
- Rep. Katie Porter ran in California’s 47th Congressional District against Republican Scott Baugh.
- The 47th district is located in Orange County, California.
- Porter had a massive war chest — she ranked in the top five among congressional fundraisers.
Republican Scott Baugh was defeated by Katie Porter, Democratic Rep.
The state’s polls close at 8 p.m. (or 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time)
California’s 47th Congressional Representative District candidates
Porter ran for her third term and is currently a member on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Before being elected to Congress for 2018,She was a professor of bankruptcy law at the University of California Irvine School of Law. Consumer and bankruptcy attorneyThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, World Bank, Federal Judicial Center, and Uniform Law Commission. She was also a clerk for Judge Richard S. Arnold of Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The 48-year-old Irvine Democrat had a massive campaign war chest — she ranked in the Top five among congressional fundraisers.
In 2018, Porter was elected as the House Speaker. Flipping the seatMimi Walters, a former Republican Rep., was the first Democrat ever to win the 45th Congressional Division, a Republican stronghold. In 2020, she retained her seat and defeated Republican Greg Raths.
She is a strong proponent of abortion rights. Helped pass the Women’s Health Protection ActThe House would codify Roe v. Wade abortion protections if enacted.
Baugh, Porter’s challenger, is an attorney who owns the business law firm, Scott Baugh & Associates. Before you run for CongressBaugh was Orange County representative in the California Assembly. He was its Republican leader and chaired Orange County Republican Party 11 years.
This was Baugh’s third run for the 47th Congressional Representative District seat. Baugh finished fourth in an extremely crowded and nonpartisan primary in 2018, which made him ineligible for the general election. He withdrew in 2020.
Baugh came in second to Porter in the 2022 nonpartisan primary, bringing in 30.8% of the vote to Porter’s 51% — enough to qualify him for the general election.
He is against abortion. TelledThe Orange County Register states that while people may disagree on when life begins, there should not be any dispute about whether it is acceptable to abort children once they have reached viability. We need to promote a culture of life in America — not a culture of termination.”
California’s 47th Congressional district has a rich voting history
California’s 47th Congressional district is a wealthy coastal district that spans large swathes of Orange County. It includes Irvine, the inland capital, where Porter taught consumer law to the University of California Irvine.
Porter declared that she would be resigning after the district lines were drawn. Switch districts to run for the new 47th districtThe coastal area that surrounds Irvine, her hometown.
The money race
According to OpenSecretsPorter raised $22.7 million and spent $24.1 millions. She had approximately $8.9 million cash in her hand as of October 19. Baugh, her opponent, raised $2.7million, spent almost $2.6 million and had $139,000 cash as of October 19.
There were several super PACs and national party committees as well as politically active nonprofits. spentAbout $8.2million was used to promote or defeat candidates in the race, both during the primary phase and afterwards. Nearly all the outside money went to Baugh’s campaign, with Republican super PACs Club for Growth Action (Congressional Leadership Fund) and Congressional Leadership Fund (Republican super PACs) leading all others.
Experts’ opinions
Porter and Baugh were both rated as “lean Democratic” Inside Elections“Toss-up” The Cook Political Report, and “leans Democratic by Sabato’s Crystal Ball at University of Virginia Center for Politics.
