Yorba Linda 2018 midterm election results cement city's status as Republican enclave with 2-1 votes

Yorba Linda voters certainly cemented the city's status as a Republican enclave in midterm balloting by giving near or better than 2 to 1 majorities to GOP candidates for state offices and hefty tallies for Republicans in all other contests.

Yorba Linda is one of only two Orange County cities with a majority Republican voter registration – 50.7 percent at last count (tiny Villa Park's GOP signups stand at 56.3 percent).

Even the city's “no party preference” voters eclipse Democrats, 23.4 percent to 22.2 percent.

Although a number of ballots – vote-by-mail, provisional, conditional and paper ballots – are still being counted, the percentages posted by Yorba Linda voters are unlikely to change. County election officials have until Dec. 6 to certify results.

As expected, the Yorba Linda City Council will remain an all-Republican governing body, with Peggy Huang and Carlos Rodriguez joining Tara Campbell, Beth Haney and Gene Hernandez.

Huang, a state deputy attorney general, won a second term, again topping the tally. Rodriguez, a Building Industry Association official, ran second. Lourdes Cruz placed third, but she easily outperformed the city's Democratic turnout.

Huang and Rodriguez were endorsed by the county's Republican Central Committee, while Cruz was endorsed by the Democratic Central Committee. Huang is a member of the GOP body, and Cruz is an alternate for the Democratic group.

Three incumbents – Brooke Jones, Al Nederhood and Phil Hawkins – were returned as directors of the Yorba Linda Water District, easily besting Robert and Barbara Kiley. Longtime Yorba Linda resident Brett Barbre effortlessly won a sixth term as a county Municipal Water District director.

And Yorba Linda resident Jeff Brown handily won a fifth term as a trustee at the North Orange County Community College District in Area 6 that includes 827 registered Yorba Linda voters.

Yorba Linda's sizable majorities for Republicans for statewide offices included John Cox for governor and contenders for secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer and controller. The lieutenant governor race split evenly between Democrats Eleni Kounalakis and Ed Hernandez.

Winning better than 2 to 1 support from Yorba Linda voters were Marshall Tuck for state schools superintendent and Steve Poizner for insurance commissioner. Diane Feinstein pulled 54 percent of Yorba Linda's vote.

Young Kim took 66 percent of the Yorba Linda vote, beating Gil Cisneros to replace Ed Royce in Congress, and Phillip Chen won 70 percent, beating Gregg Fritchle for a second term in the state Assembly.

Also favored were Todd Spitzer for district attorney by 55 percent and Don Barnes for sheriff by 68 percent.

City voters convincingly nixed rent control, dialysis clinic rules and all four bond propositions, with “no” ahead by some 1,000 votes on the animal confinement measure. Gas tax repeal (68 percent) and the others had huge “yes” margins.