Rich, Dorosin in Limbo, Waiting on Final Votes for OC Board of Commissioners Seat

In the race for the Orange County Board of Commissioners, Jean Hamilton beat out two incumbents to successfully claim her seat – but it remains a painstakingly close race to fill the last open seat on the board.

Incumbent candidate, and chair of the board, Penny Rich, is in a deadlock with fellow incumbent Mark Dorosin. Both Rich and Dorosin finished out Tuesday’s Election Day with 31 percent of the vote with a meager nine votes separating the two.

With the difference in votes being so marginal, no official calls can be made until provisional and absentee ballots finish trickling in.

Rich spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck the day after the election. She said these too-close-to-call races may be indicative of how elections are going to be in Orange County from here on out.

“It was surprisingly close between Mark and I,” Rich said. “I didn’t expect that. I did think it was going to be a tight race overall.”

Rich said there’s about 262 provisional ballots still pending, and only maybe half of them will be eligible to count due to improper registration or filing under the incorrect precinct.

Rich said there’s also 326 absentee ballots that are still pending, but even those face the risk of not being counted in time.

“They had to be postmarked on Tuesday at midnight and they have to be received in the office by Friday and that’s a crapshoot – you just never know how many of those you’re going to get back,” Rich said.

While the race, overall, may have been neck and neck, one precinct Rich dominated was UNC’s campus.

She attributes this support from the student population to spending an ample amount of time on campus as a mentor, having a campaign manager who is a grad student at UNC and being committed to listening to young people.

“You know, it’s just that communication,” Rich said. “I mean I think that I’m really interested in the next generation and the future and what they’re thinking about. Sometimes people my age don’t think about what they’re thinking about – and I really care – so it’s important to me to always be listening to what they’re saying.”

To keep following this Board of County Commissioners race, and to find all the results of the other local elections in our community, visit our local elections page.

‹

Wisconsin Voters Forced to Choose Between Health, Democracy

If Wisconsin was a test case for voting in the age of the coronavirus, it did not go well for many voters. Thousands were forced to congregate for hours in long lines on Tuesday with no protective gear. Thousands more stayed home, unwilling to risk their health and unable to be counted because requested absentee ballots […]

Biden Notches 3 More Victories, Sanders Reassessing Campaign

Joe Biden swept to victory in Florida, Illinois and Arizona, increasingly pulling away with a Democratic presidential primary upended by the coronavirus and building pressure on Bernie Sanders to abandon his campaign. On Wednesday, Sanders’ campaign manager said Sanders “is going to be having conversations with supporters to assess his campaign.” But he suggested Sanders is in […]

Uncertainty Surrounds Democratic Primary as Ohio Scraps Vote

The Democratic presidential primary is consumed with uncertainty after leaders in Ohio called off Tuesday’s election just hours before polls were set to open, citing the need to combat the new coronavirus. Officials in Florida, Arizona and Illinois said they would move forward with the vote. Not since New York City postponed its mayoral primary on the […]

‘Bigger Than Any One of Us’: Biden, Sanders Tackle Pandemic

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders sought in the Democratic debate to cast themselves as best-positioned to lead the nation through a global pandemic, uniting in their criticism of President Donald Trump’s response to the fast-moving coronavirus but diverging in how they would confront the spiraling public health and economic crisis. Biden pledged Sunday to deploy […]

Florida Could be Knockout Punch for Sanders’ 2020 Campaign

Florida has never been known as a place of stability, especially in its politics. And yet stability is what has been on the minds of many Democrats in the state who say they’ll vote for former Vice President Joe Biden in Tuesday’s presidential primary election instead of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. “I like some of […]

Dorosin Defeats Rich in Orange County Commissioners Race After Provisional, Absentee Ballot Count

Following a count of provisional and absentee ballots, the Orange County Board of Elections determined Mark Dorosin held nine votes over Penny Rich on Thursday evening. The votes totals remain unofficial. The results will be made official Friday morning when the board meets again to approve the results and will send them to the State […]

Joe Biden Has Another Big Primary Night, Wins 4 More States

Joe Biden decisively won Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary, seizing a key battleground state that helped propel Bernie Sanders’ insurgent candidacy four years ago. The former vice president’s victory there, as well as in Missouri, Mississippi and Idaho, dealt a serious blow to Sanders and substantially widened Biden’s path to the nomination. Biden again showed strength […]

Disappointing Results Leave Sanders Campaign at Crossroads

Sanders has a choice. The face of the Democrats’ far-left flank is suddenly staring up at a towering wall of opposition from his own party, an urgent call to unify against President Donald Trump and a growing delegate disadvantage. And as unlikely as it may seem less than two weeks after losing his front-runner status, […]

Michigan Primary Could Make or Break Sanders’ Campaign

Bernie Sanders proved his 2016 presidential bid was serious with an upset victory in Michigan powered by his opposition to free trade and appeal among working-class voters. Four years later, the state could either revive the Vermont senator’s campaign or relegate him to the role of protest candidate. Michigan and five other states already began […]

Rich, Dorosin in Limbo, Waiting on Final Votes for OC Board of Commissioners Seat

In the race for the Orange County Board of Commissioners, Jean Hamilton beat out two incumbents to successfully claim her seat – but it remains a painstakingly close race to fill the last open seat on the board. Incumbent candidate, and chair of the board, Penny Rich, is in a deadlock with fellow incumbent Mark […]

›