IRVINE, Calif. (KNX) — U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D.-Calif.-45) announced on Monday she would be running for reelection next year in a newly drawn district encompassing where she lives in Irvine, but excluding much of her current House seat.
Porter’s district was redrawn as part of a revamped map released by the California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission. The CCRC also changed boundaries for State Assembly and Senate seats throughout California as part of a process to balance voter populations based on recent U.S. Census data.
The county will lose one seat on Capitol Hill when new maps take effect in 2022. U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal’s district centered on Long Beach is set to shift north, pulling out of northern O.C. entirely, leaving the region represented by six U.S. Representatives as opposed to seven. Lowenthal will not seek reelection in 2022.
Porter’s new coastal district leans Democratic by only one point, meaning she could face a significant challenge from Republicans. U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel, who lives in Seal Beach, may mount a challenge against Porter if she opts not to run in a new House district in northern O.C. — a district composed of about 38% Asian-American voters, and which leans Democratic by a more significant five points. (District residency is not a requirement for U.S. House Representatives.)
U.S. Rep. Young Kim (R.-La Habra) lives just outside the new, heavily Asian-American, north O.C. district. Her home town of La Habra was drawn into an L.A. County district now represented by Rep. Linda Sanchez (D.-Whittier). According to The Orange County Register, political observers have speculated that Kim will run in the district previously represented by Porter, which since shifting further inland to run from Rancho Mission Viejo to Chino Hills in San Bernardino County, trends more Republican.
The CCRC will hold a press conference on the steps of the California State Capitol on Dec. 27 to hand over finalized maps to Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber. They may still face legal challenges over the proposed redistricting. The public may continue to lend comment on the maps through Dec. 27, with live-streamed CCRC meetings scheduled over the next week.
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