Northwest Orange County’s inland cities from Garden Grove to the Los Angeles County border are likely to be represented in Congress next year by someone from Long Beach, according to deadline candidate filings and articles in the Long Beach Press Telegram.

The newly drawn 47th Congressional District is generally centered in Long Beach, but crosses into Orange County inland from Seal Beach.

The Press Telegram reports that onetime Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona has endorsed former GOP Rep. Steve Kuykendall in the race.

Kuykendall, who lives in Long Beach, is a former Marine who served in the Assembly from 1994 to 1998 and in U.S. House of Representatives for one term from 1999 to 2001.

But the newspaper reported that the state Republican Party this week endorsed his GOP rival, Long Beach City Councilman Gary DeLong.

Republican Steve Foley of Cypress also is running.

The most prominent Democrat in the race is state Sen. Alan Lowenthal of Long Beach, who chairs the Senate’s committee on high-speed rail and has been a critic of the troubled $98-billion proposed project linking Anaheim and San Francisco.

From the Press Telegram story:

Republican small business owner Sanford Kahn is also running, as are frequent candidate Peter Mathews of Long Beach, a Democrat and college professor, and Democrats Usha Shah, a community volunteer, and Jay Shah, a retired physician who ran against [Los Angeles] County Supervisor Don Knabe in 2004 and 2008 and against Rep. Dana Rohrabacher in 2010.

The Shahs of Long Beach are husband and wife, according to Jay Shah’s campaign website.

California voters won’t have a traditional party primary election June 5. Voters will be permitted to vote for any candidate, and the two top vote-getters, even if they’re from the same party, will face each other in November.

The deadline for filing was March 9, but it was extended to March 14 for races like the 47th where no incumbent is running. The secretary of state’s office will issue a final list of certified candidates March 29.

— TRACY WOOD

Since you've made it this far,

You are obviously connected to your community and value good journalism. As an independent and local nonprofit, our news is accessible to all, regardless of what they can afford. Our newsroom centers on Orange County’s civic and cultural life, not ad-driven clickbait. Our reporters hold powerful interests accountable to protect your quality of life. But it’s not free to produce. It depends on donors like you.
Make a tax-deductible donation

About Voice of OC: Mission | Editorial Policies | Contact Us | Funding | Privacy Policy

Join the conversation: In lieu of comments, we encourage readers to engage with us across a variety of mediums. Join our Facebook discussion. Message us via our website or staff page. Send us a secure tip. Share your thoughts in a community opinion piece.