[dropcap size=big]T[/dropcap]he eyes of the world were on Orange County for most of this year, due to the possibility that the longtime bastion of American conservatism might go blue.
It did — kinda. While election results haven't been verified, five of Orange County's seven congressional seats seem in the hands of Democrats — a historic moment, indeed. But other local races show that the lords of OC still have some fight to them, even if the old Orange County is now officially dead.
Three congressional races were safely blue, and thus drew little attention. Incumbents Linda Sanchez, Lou Correa, and Alan Lowenthal (representing the 38th, 46th, and 47th districts, respectively) easily won reelection. The rest were those that Republicans and Democrats alike have bitterly fought over for the past two years, ever since Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election here — the first time a Democratic candidate took Orange County in 80 years.