CA-39 flips

Following a contentious campaign, Democrat Gil Cisneros has defeated Republican Young Kim and won California's 39th Congressional District. Cisneros's win has flipped another seat for Democrats in Orange County, a region usually synonymous with conservative politics and safe Republican seats. With Cisneros's win in the 39th district, all 7 seats in Orange County now belong to Democrats for the first since the 1930's.

The shift in Orange County's politics seems to be due to a series of demographic and political changes in the area. In the 1980's, Orange County was 80% white, vastly different from the Hispanic and Asian populations that now make up the ethnic majority. These same populations are now registering as independents at higher rates than they are Republicans, and managed to swing the election in Cisneros's favor.

Democrats now control 44 out of California's 53 House seats.