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Tonight, Orange and LA County voters are picking who their next state senator will be in District 36, which stretches along the coast from San Clemente up to Cerritos. 

As of 1:30 a.m., Democrat Chris Duncan was in the lead with just over 50% of the vote against incumbent Republican State Senator Tony Strickland, who had 49.8% of the vote, leaving him over 1,000 votes behind his challenger. 

Strickland first won the seat during a special election in 2025 after reigniting his political career in Orange County serving as a Huntington Beach City Councilman and Mayor. 

Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.

Noah Biesiada serves as Voice of OC’s county reporter, covering the county board of supervisors and the $9 billion government they oversee.  Biesiada started as an intern in July 2019, helping launch...