Democratic Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris won reelection to a fourth Assembly term representing Costa Mesa, Irvine and Tustin, defeating Republican architect and small business owner Scotty Peotter. The Orange County Registrar of Voters certified the win and the 2024 general election on Dec. 3.
Official election results from the Registrar of Voters showed Petrie-Norris ahead of Peotter with 57% of the vote to 43%, a margin of 26,080 votes.
The victory reinforces Democrats’ strength in Orange County in a broader election cycle that saw voter shifts to the right amidst historic electoral realignments.
While Peotter led in conservative-leaning Costa Mesa communities of Mesa Verde and Eastside, and the Irvine community of Orchard Hills, Petrie-Norris made up votes by winning a majority of historically-Democratic precincts in west Costa Mesa and Bristol. Her significant margins in densely-populated, reliably Democratic Irvine communities further added to her overall vote total.
The 73rd Assembly District has 106,121 active Democratic voter registrations compared to 75,092 active Republican voter registrations, as of November 2024.
Petrie-Norris declared victory in a post on Instagram on Nov. 12.
“Thank you Irvine, Tustin and Costa Mesa for reelecting me to represent you in the California State Assembly,” Petrie-Norris said. “I am truly grateful for your trust and support.”
Petrie-Norris was first elected to the State Assembly in 2018 and now chairs the Utilities and Energy Committee. During her campaign, she cited her accomplishments on reproductive rights, education and wildfire prevention as key reasons as to why voters should return her to Sacramento.
Peotter, who previously served as a Newport Beach City councilmember, ran a populist campaign centered on the border, school choice and lower taxes and government deregulation. In his campaign efforts, he attempted to paint Petrie-Norris as an elitist who was out of touch with local communities, claiming she supported open borders, opposed gas-powered cars and wanted to “put tampons in boys’ bathrooms,” in reference to her support of AB 230.
While Peotter has not issued an official statement on the race, he briefly spoke on his campaign on a conservative talk-show on Nov. 6.
“Thanks so much for all those that did support me and helped me on the campaign,” Peotter said. “We knew it was a long-shot type of race with Cottie Petrie-Norris and the Democratic machine being up by 12% just in voter registration.”
Ahead of Election Day, Petrie-Norris received endorsements from an extensive Democratic coalition which included Representative Katie Porter, Governor Gavin Newsom and Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis. Peotter received endorsements from Costa Mesa and Newport Beach conservatives including former Costa Mesa Mayor Steve Mensinger and former Newport Beach Mayor Kevin Muldoon.
Kian Momeny is a News Intern for the fall 2024 quarter. He can be reached at kmomeny@uci.edu.
