It’s done. Mr. Moorlach — or as OJB has long depicted him, the Sasquatch — is going to Sacramento.
Things ended with a whimper rather than a bang as the last few votes trailed in, but let’s take a look anyway.
| Registration and Turnout |
| Completed Precincts: 248 of 248 |
| Reg/Turnout | Percentage | |
| Total Registered Voters | 491,852 | |
| Precinct Registration | 491,852 | |
| Precinct Ballots Cast | 10,375 | 2.1% |
| Early Ballots Cast | 0 | 0.0% |
| Vote-by-Mail Ballots Cast | 66,772 | 13.6% |
| Total Ballots Cast | 77,147 | 15.7% |
| STATE SENATOR 37th District, Short Term |
| Completed Precincts: 248 of 248 |
| Vote Count | Percentage | |
| JOHN M. W. MOORLACH (REP) | 38,125 | 50.3% |
| DONALD P. WAGNER (REP) | 33,411 | 44.0% |
| NAZ NAMAZI (REP) | 2,621 | 3.5% |
| Louise Stewardson (W) | 1,696 | 2.2% |
That’s a big +14 for Moorlach today, a +8 for Wagner, a +2 for Namazi, and a +1 for Stewardson. That’s 25 total votes. Not a great day for Wagner, with 32% of them.
By How Much Did Moorlach Win?
For purposes of determining whether this race is over, one had to view the race as a contest between two candidates: Moorlach and Not Moorlach. If Not Moorlach had more votes, we’d go to a May runoff. Here are those results:
MOORLACH: 38,125 [+14]
NOT MOORLACH: 37,728 [+11]
VALID VOTES: 75,853
50%+1 LEVEL: 37927
VICTORY MARGIN: 398 votes
38,125/75,853: 0.502616903748 [that’s for the benefit of Chris Nguyen]
Do We Really Need to Do “How Many Ballots Left to Count?”
Total estimated number of ballots to count (after Election Day): 8068
Total estimated number of ballots counted (after Election Day): 8068
Total estimated number of ballots left to count: 0
How many did OJB predict would come in? 8000.
Will There Be a Recount?
If some interested voter in the district wants to pay me to do one, sure!
Anything Else to Say Before We Go?
Sure — but let’s let John Moorlach say it. From his email newsletter:
My opponent, Don Wagner, posted something conciliatory on his Facebook page today.
BONUS:
You are invited to attend my swearing in ceremony this Sunday at 4 p.m.
The event will be at the Orange County Rescue Mission’s Village of Hope (see http://www.rescuemission.org/services/village-of-hope/?gclid=CK7B5__2t8QCFYhhfgodY0UAjg).
Our Master of Ceremonies will be former Tustin City Councilman, and the Rescue Mission’s CEO, Jim Palmer. The invocation will be led by Kindred Community Church Senior Pastor Philip De Courcy. Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait will lead the pledge of allegiance. And the Honorable State Senator Bob Huff, California’s State Senate Minority Leader, will officiate the swearing in. There will be a small reception following the program. The dress code is Sunday afternoon casual, which means that Reyn Spooner shirts are recommended for the men.
The OC Register covers the final vote count in the firs piece below. It is followed by a kind letter to the editor. The Daily Pilot provides a closing column by Barbara Venecia on the campaign in the third piece. And we close with a recap by The Sacramento Bee, a newspaper I’m sure I’ll be more involved with in the months and years to come.
And Wagner has his say as well — on Facebook:
To be clear, I believe that I too conceded on Facebook a time or two (or three) — but only because I was pretty confident that Huff, Rackauckas, and Barbre wouldn’t take my calls. Can’t blame them and (with the possible exception of Barbre) not particularly unhappy about it.)
*Politics…..creates strange bedfellows and stranger enemies. Hard to figure out sometimes. We never could get a straight answer as to why the combined heat of the entire Republican Establishment and elected was mounted against Pappa John. Guess that answer will require a “Top Secret Clearance”. What this same Establishment did to Webster was pretty poor. We are only sad that Webster didn’t beat back that weed killer that they spread to oust him. Pappa John, we predict will not only shine as a State Senator, create a bunch of great legislation – but in eight years run successfully for
Statewide office.
*because DUH, you two, Wagner was considered much more dependable in giving the moneyed interests – big business AND public safety unions – what they want, no questions asked.
My bet is that John will not wait 8 years to run for a state-wide office. Sooner, not later.
As for any OC legislator getting any significant legislation enacted into law, does not and iwll not happen.
He’d be most interested in Treasurer and Controller, and both Chiang and Yee would be tough to beat. My guess is that he’ll still be settling in in 2018 and will wait to run for either until 2022. He really could retire in SD-37, though; it’s a good and safe gig for him.
*Chairman Vern, but the overkill was immense. We got Wagner hit pieces against Moorlach every day for six weeks prior to the election. What could his backer be thinking? They just destroyed any future Don Wagner might have had in this state. Meanwhile, Moorlach will serve his two terms because he believes in decorum. When he does decide to make a run for statewide office…..the ground wlll be well plowed….and planted.
*At the Rohrabacher event today, we asked Dana why Moorlach was targeted? He said, he personally was against Moorlach’s policy on immigration. Sounds like a pretty weak reason to use thermonuclear
attack against another Republican.
Yeah that’s bullshit, Don Wagner signed a letter asking for comprehensive immigration reform, and got a whole buncha Mexican haters mad at him (and lovin Moorlach) because of it … even though he used to talk shit right and left about immigrants a few years ago. Moorlach’s position on that is not any different from any other Republican’s or even Wagner’s. Dana doesn’t pay attention any more, someone told him Wagner’s solid and Moorlach’s a troublemaker and that’s all.
You can write concession speeches for money Diamond. You are so experienced at it.
That’s jerkyboy109@cox.com, everyone! You can thank him personally! (Haven’t tried the address; doubt that it’s real.)
By the way — I see no reasonable expectation of privacy in anonymous attack comments, although it is generally extended as a courtesy. But it needn’t be.
Aw but the troll gives the REAL Jerky Boys a bad name.