A Los Angeles Times analysis published Sunday put hard numbers behind a widely held notion among county politics watchers that the reason behind Republican Andrew Do’s victory over former Democratic state Sen. Lou Correa in February’s supervisorial election was a superior get-out-the-vote effort.
The Times analysis showed that 28 percent of Little Saigon voters, a Vietnamese-American enclave, went to the polls or mailed in ballots; while only 16 percent of voters in Santa Ana, which is predominantly Latino, cast their ballots.
This disparity explains why Do, a relatively unknown Vietnamese-American and former Garden Grove councilman, was able to best Correa, who is a far more recognizable figure in the county, by 48 votes.
Correa is well respected in Santa Ana, a city big enough to easily carry the race and the only city in Orange County where Democrats hold an advantage in voter registration, according to the Times article.
Do filled the seat vacated by his former boss, State Sen. Janet Nguyen.
From the article:
Voters in Little Saigon said they were bombarded with Do mailers, reminders to vote and coverage of the race. There are about two dozen newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations that covered the race in Little Saigon, a community still so devoted to local newspapers that one professor calls it “a cafe society.”
Kathy Hoang said campaign volunteers practically hounded her, calling and knocking on her door inside the Bolsa Verde mobile home park in Little Saigon, handing her fliers and urging her to vote for Do.
“They said: He’s the No. 1 entry on the ballot. Make sure you check that box,” she remembered. “Everywhere I turned, I heard his name and saw his face.”