For the second straight presidential election, a Democratic candidate appears poised to splash a coat of blue over the former conservative stronghold of Orange County.
But perhaps the most surprising thing about former Vice President Joe Biden’s early lead in the county — once so reliably ruby red that President Reagan quipped it’s “where the good Republicans go before they die” — is the fact that it was not unexpected.
“That’s not at all surprising, given the registration and the other trends that are making this a purple county,” said Fred Smoller, an associate professor of political science at Chapman University.
Biden was leading President Trump in the county, 54% to 44.2%, Wednesday morning, with a margin of more than 125,000 votes, according to the Orange County registrar of voters office.
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