Vicente Sarmiento campaign states Sarmiento in best position to win for Orange County Board of Supervisors District 2

Santa Ana Mayor Vicente Sarmiento is best positioned to win the newly-drawn, Latino-majority Orange County Board of Supervisors 2nd District as demonstrated by his commanding primary victory; overwhelming fundraising advantage; coalition of endorsers; and right record and message to lead in this critical moment for Orange County.

Primary Winner: Vicente Sarmiento

Despite facing a crowded five-candidate primary field in California’s June 7, 2022, primary, Vicente Sarmiento placed first in the primary election, securing 21,916 votes, 35.5 percent of the vote. The candidate who placed second in the primary and Sarmiento’s general election opponent Kim Bernice Nguyen received 13,923 votes, 22.27 percent of the primary vote – leaving Sarmiento with a staggering 7,993 votes or 13.23 percent advantage over his closest opponent.

This is especially important considering that in the entire history of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, no candidate who faced a vote deficit of more than 10 percent in the primary election was able to overcome this obstacle in the general election.

Fundraising Edge: Vicente Sarmiento

Cash On Hand, Aug. 24, 2022

As of August 24, 2022, with fundraising activities only beginning to ramp up again, Sarmiento has raised $91,521.00 for the general election, $66,198.40 of which the campaign currently has on hand.

Nguyen’s campaign, on the other hand, faces a tougher financial reality. According to August 16 fundraising reports, Nguyen overspent her own campaign funds and is now in -$17,724.00 of debt. Further, she has only received a dozen donations in the over two months between primary Election Day and August 18.

Consequently, Nguyen faces an uphill battle to both repay her five-figure debt and raise enough funds to execute the robust voter outreach program necessary to win. Sarmiento, on the other hand, who raised $213,233.73 for the primary, is well-positioned to raise even more money for the general thanks to his initial success, ensuring a robust general election campaign budget and voter outreach program.

Right Record and Message: Vicente Sarmiento

Orange County and the United States are at a critical inflection point. These trying times require qualified leaders in local, state, and federal offices alike with long-standing records of delivering for their constituents. Time and time again, as Santa Ana Mayor and Councilmember, Sarmiento has proven he has the experience, vision, and values to keep Orange County moving forward.

First elected to the Santa Ana City Council in 2007 and as Mayor in 2020, Sarmiento has spent the better half of the last fifteen years overseeing major advancements for Santa Ana – the most populous city in the district – by:

• Increasing the supply of affordable housing
• Establishing rent control and tenant protections for working families
• Creating a hazard/hero pay program for front line essential workers and helped small business owners get the financial aid they needed during the pandemic
• Funding a universal legal defense fund that provides free legal counsel to undocumented families facing deportation
• Balancing the city’s budget, increasing its fiscal reserve, and creating a surplus of over $42 million

On the Board of Supervisors, Sarmiento will expand these groundbreaking accomplishments and create new, innovative programs and policies to tackle the many crises of our time: rising prices, homelessness, the lack of affordable housing, political division and distrust, and more.

Endorsement Leader: Vicente Sarmiento

Before the June 7 primary, Sarmiento had already built a powerful coalition, earning the endorsements of the Democratic Party of Orange County, the Orange County Labor Federation, Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), along with a plethora of diverse elected leaders, unions, and political organizations from Orange County and across California.

Following Sarmiento’s remarkable primary victory, California Attorney General Rob Bonta endorsed his candidacy, further strengthening Sarmiento’s coalition.

With the financial and people power of these leaders and organizations, especially the Democratic Party of Orange County and the Orange County Federation of Labor, Sarmiento will be able to run an even more aggressive voter outreach campaign. Specifically, the Orange County Democratic Party, which is the most important and aggressive red to blue county party in the state, invests millions of dollars and tens of thousands of hours into vigorous voter mobilization on behalf of its endorsed candidates every election year.