Democrat Porter flips GOP House seat in Southern California

LOS ANGELES – Democrat Katie Porter has seized a Republican-held U.S. House seat in the heart of Southern California’s Reagan country.

Thursday’s vote count update in Orange County gave Porter, a law professor, the upset over Republican Rep. Mimi Walters in the 45th District. Porter has 51 percent and leads by 6,203 votes.

Democrats now have won five GOP seats in California, and Republicans are being threatened in another race that still is too close to call.

Porter’s victory is a sign of changing times in Orange County, once known nationally as a GOP stronghold but now increasingly Democratic.

Porter campaigned on overturning President Donald Trump’s tax reform package and support for universal health care.

Walters is a Trump supporter and promoted the region’s economic growth under the president’s stewardship.