The release of new congressional districts drafted by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission has shaken up the local political landscape, including, it now appears, the dais of the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
Supervisor Shawn Nelson confirmed Tuesday that he’s running for Congress.
Incumbent Rep. Ed Royce has been telling supporters that he’s likely to run for a new district extending from Orange and Villa Park southward into South County.
That leaves a North County congressional district empty.
It’s one that largely mirrors the supervisorial district that Nelson won after a brutal campaign, one that began almost exactly one year ago.
This week, just after the county’s budget hearings, Nelson said he wasn’t looking to leave his supervisorial seat but couldn’t let such an opportunity pass without attempting a run.
Nelson said he believes he can represent the district better than anyone else.
“I know it as well as you can,” Nelson said, adding that a congressional run would mirror the working-class Republican approach he’s brought to the Board of Supervisors.
“That’s certainly who I want to represent,” he said.