As expected, Sanchez seems headed for rout

U.S. Rep Loretta Sanchez appeared headed for an easy victory Tuesday evening over Republican challenger Tan Nguyen, in a race that attracted little attention until a letter meant to keep Latino voters from the polls was linked to Nguyen’s campaign.

Few gave Nguyen much chance of defeating Sanchez, (D-Santa Ana). Nguyen had made cracking down on illegal immigration the centerpiece of his campaign, in a district where Latinos comprise 35% of registered voters.

After the letter, sent to 14,000 Latino Democrats, was traced to his campaign, Nguyen’s chances dwindled further. The letter incorrectly asserted that immigrants couldn’t vote and falsely asserted the state had developed a computer system that would allow the names of Latino voters to be turned over to anti-illegal immigration groups.

State investigators tracked the letter to Nguyen’s campaign and raided the home of a Los Angeles police officer who is a close friend of Nguyen’s.

Reached at her election party Tuesday evening, Sanchez said she was pleased by the early returns and expected the margin to grow.

“I’m not really sure what kind of support he has out there,” she said of Nguyen. “Frankly, certainly not enough to win.”

Sanchez sounded most enthusiastic about Democrats regaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives, which means she will become chairwoman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

“I’m pretty excited,” she said.

Nguyen, who had previously lost a race for Congress as a Democrat, ran a largely self-funded campaign that received little support from the Republican Party, and Sanchez had successfully beaten back several challengers in recent years.

Still, he refused to concede defeat early in the evening. “The events of the past couple weeks have damaged us, but I’m optimistic and I’m confident that we’ve bonded with the voters,” he said from his campaign headquarters.

Measure M, the countywide ballot measure to renew a half-cent sales tax to fund transportation improvements, also was leading in early balloting. The renewal of Measure M was one of the most closely watched races in Orange County this year. The initiative, which would provide an additional $12 billion over the next three decades to pay for transportation projects, faced tough sledding against Orange County’s notoriously anti-tax attitude, but it was championed by a variety of business and civic leaders.

In Costa Mesa, Mayor Allan Mansoor took an early lead in a field of six candidates seeking election to two seats on the City Council. Mansoor became a polarizing figure in the city, which has waded into the national debate over illegal immigration under his watch. Under Mansoor’s leadership, the council has voted to abolish a day labor center, shut down the city’s human relations commission and seek federal permission for local police to enforce federal immigration law.

The moves have won him fans from across the region, but resentment as well, as some think his actions have divided the city where parks and schools, rather than national issues, dominate local politics. The police and fire unions, as well as powerful business interests, funded campaigns to unseat him.

In the race for the county’s 5th Supervisorial District, former Assemblywoman Patricia Bates took the lead over Laguna Niguel Mayor Cathryn DeYoung. The runoff between Bates and DeYoung for the seat generated little of the rancor, attention and spending of the primary, as attention turned from national issues such as illegal immigration to local ones, such as transportation and quality of life. The pair spent a combined $3 million in the primary.

The 5th Supervisorial District covers a mostly white, affluent coastal area stretching from Newport Beach to the San Diego County border.

In the race for the 34th Senate District, Republican Lynn Daucher jumped ahead of Democrat Lou Correa. The race was one of the most bitterly fought in the state, with each side spending more than $2 million as of last week.

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christian.berthelsen @latimes.com

seema.mehta@latimes.com

Times staff writer Kelly-Anne Suarez contributed to this report.