Democratic Group Makes Push in 46th

A powerful local Democratic organization has pledged $100,000 to help get out the vote in central Orange County in November, the only district in the county where Republicans are a minority.

Bolstered by what some perceive as their best chance to win a congressional seat in a decade, the board of directors of the Democratic Foundation of Orange County voted this month to pump the money into the 46th Congressional District, where Democrats hold a nearly 20% registration edge over Republicans, said the organization’s chairman, Wylie A. Aitken.

The direct beneficiaries of the funds will be Democratic candidates Loretta Sanchez, who is challenging Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), and Lou Correa, who hopes to unseat Assemblyman Jim Morrissey (R-Anaheim). Morrissey’s 69th Assembly District is in the same area.

“We want people to get out and vote and vote by mail,” said Aitken, a Santa Ana attorney who also chairs the Sanchez campaign. “We hope to get a double hit. It’s hard to believe people who would vote for Loretta wouldn’t also vote for Lou.”

Local Democrats are particularly excited about Sanchez’s prospects. She is an Orange County native and a Latina in a district where 30% of the Democrats are Latino.

Her campaign has been helped by strong, early fund-raising that helped her amass $188,500 by June 30.

Dornan, who is seeking his seventh term as a county congressman, could not be reached for comment.

Correa, an investment banker, also believes turnout is the key to his campaign. “If people vote, the whole Democratic process is strengthened,” Correa said.

Mark Thompson, a consultant to the Morrissey campaign, said the Democrats will have to spend a lot more than $100,000 to match the Republican get-out-the-vote effort in Orange County.

“Let them spend their $100,000,” said Thompson, noting that Morrissey currently has $90,000 cash on hand in campaign donations. “The Democratic Party will have to spend about $700,000 to match what the Republicans will spend.”