A special election will be held Tuesday in the 37th Senate District to fill the vacancy caused by Mimi Walters’ election to Congress.
All three candidates on the ballot are Republicans — former Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach, Assemblyman Don Wagner, R-Tustin, and Naz Namazi, an aide to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach.
Democrat Louise Stewardson, a registered nurse and small business owner, is a certified write-in candidate.
The district includes Costa Mesa, Irvine, Lake Forest, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Newport Beach, Tustin and Villa Park as well as portions of Anaheim Hills, Huntington Beach and most of Orange.
Moorlach, who once unsuccessfully tried to persuade his colleagues on the Orange County Board of Supervisors to change its term limits so he could run for a third term, told City News Service he decided to run for the Senate seat because so many of his well-wishers asked him to do it.
Wagner, who represents the 68th Assembly District, could not be immediately reached for comment. He represents Lake Forest, Tustin, North Tustin, Villa Park, most of Orange and portions of Anaheim and Irvine.
Wagner, who was endorsed by Walters, said in his candidate statement that he will “strongly support a balanced budget, with no new taxes.” He also criticized the state’s “over-regulation and over-taxation,” which he says can “stifle business success and economic growth.”
Moorlach’s rationale for running is much the same. In an interview with City News Service, he recalled having lunch with a chief executive of a large company a few years ago in its La Jolla headquarters.
When it came time to build a larger facility, the CEO said he heard from representatives of several western states, but not California.
“Within a short time after that they had their plant up and running in Phoenix, Arizona,” Moorlach said. “We’ve got to find a good balance between trying to protect our air and water and keeping jobs here in California.”
Moorlach, long a champion of pension reform, called the new law pushed by Gov. Jerry Brown ” a good start” but said he would push for more in Sacramento.
Namazi, who earned a bachelor’s degree in social ecology from UC Irvine, calls herself a “Reagan Republican,” whose family fled Iran during the revolution in 1979, according to her website.
Turnout is expected to reach about 22 to 25 percent, said Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley.
Kelley’s office received nearly 57,600 absentee ballots as of Monday, Kelley said. Turnout on election day is expected to be about 8 percent, Kelley said.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If no candidate receives a majority, a runoff with the top two finishers will be held May 19.
—Staff and wire reports