No Run-Off, Swearing-In Scheduled: Senator-Elect Moorlach’s Lead Shrinks by Another 25 Votes, But Registrar Virtually Done Counting
Posted by Chris Nguyen on March 20, 2015
California State Senator-Elect
John M. W. Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa)
The sixth results (yesterday’s count) are in, and the Registrar of Voters actually finished counting all ballots in their possession. The only remaining ballots are SB 29 ballots that will arrive in the mail today.
2,672 SB 29 ballots were counted, with 2,440 of those arriving on Wednesday and 232 arriving yesterday. Only a tiny number of SB 29 ballots are expected to arrive today.
This sixth update has the penultimate results, as the seventh update tonight will be the final numbers from the Registrar of Voters:
| STATE SENATOR 37th District, Short Term |
| Completed Precincts: 248 of 248 |
| Vote Count | Percentage | |
| JOHN M. W. MOORLACH (REP) | 38,111 | 50.3% |
| DONALD P. WAGNER (REP) | 33,403 | 44.1% |
| NAZ NAMAZI (REP) | 2,619 | 3.5% |
| Louise Stewardson (W) | 1,695 | 2.2% |
Moorlach gained 1,718 votes, Wagner 1,533, Namazi 129, and Stewardson 106. In other words, Moorlach gained 1,718 of the newly-counted votes (49.3%) while the rest of the field gained 1,768 of the newly-counted votes (50.7%).
Moorlach was ahead of 50% by 247 votes for the last Election Night count, which shrunk by 25 down to 222 votes after Wednesday’s count, and that lead shrunk by another 25 votes, still leaving Moorlach 197 votes above the 50% mark. I project that the remaining SB 29 ballots left are far, far fewer than 197; I’ll go out on a limb and say there’s probably less than 10 of those ballots out there.
Based on the Election Night returns and trends, OC Political was the first place to call the election in print when we did so on Election Night at 10:31 PM, and we stood by the call even as a number of other places said late ballots would trend away from Moorlach.
Senator Sharon Runner was sworn in yesterday in the State Capitol after winning the SD-21 special election, which was held the same day as the SD-37 special election. Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff had invited Senator-Elect John Moorlach to be sworn in on the same day, but Moorlach opted to wait and will also take the oath of office in the district. He plans to be sworn in on Sunday at 4:00 PM in the Chapel at the Orange County Rescue Mission’s Village of Hope at 1 Hope Drive in Tustin.
OC Political 
Greg Diamond said
Congratulations on being the first to call the election. But who said that late ballots would trend away from Moorlach? I thought that they could, but that’s not the same as saying that they will. It’s the right question to ask, though, when calling an election.
Anyway, I’m glad that we’re all happy about the result — except apparently for most local Republican electeds and such.
Robert "Don't call me Bob" Darley said
Hey, it’s almost Nine O’clock, which is like saying It’s late in the eight O’clock hour.. Could, Would, Should.
Greg’s Nuance and innuendo would never make it in Sacramento….
Greg Diamond said
I feel your pain, Mr. Darley. Anyway, at least Pulido’s still in office.
Chris Nguyen said
You didn’t say that, Greg, but a number of people in Sacramento were.