Mayor now looks to Nov. 2

With all precincts reporting, Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor won the Republican primary in the 68th Assembly District and, due to voter registration in the district, could very likely head to Sacramento after the November election.

Because voter registration leans Republican in the district, Mansoor could fill Republican Van Tran’s state Assembly seat in the 68th District. Tran, who won the GOP nomination in the 47th Congressional District, is aiming for Congress in November’s General Election. Tran, who is termed out of his Assembly seat, will face incumbent U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove).

Mansoor garnered 75.9%, or 14,861 votes, and will be the favorite over his Democratic challenger, Phu Nguyen. Nguyen won on the Democrats’ ballot with 57.7% of the vote, or 6,361 votes. The two will go head to head on the November ballot.

Mansoor did not return calls or e-mails requesting comment Wednesday. Nguyen, who was at a “Swing-a-Thon” fundraiser at Sonora Elementary School to help Newport-Mesa school district’s Recreation on Campus for Kids program, also declined to comment.

In another closely watched race involving Costa Mesa Measure C, which locked in the use of the Orange County Fairgrounds to traditional fair uses, it easily passed with 87.2%, or 8,599 voters, in favor.

State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine) fell short in his bid for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate to Carly Fiorina and Tom Campbell. Fiorina won a majority of Republican votes with 56.5%. DeVore finished with 19% of the votes, or 321,218.

Fiorina will face incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer in November.

Republican Don Wagner of Irvine also won his primary, garnering 32.3% of the Republican vote. He will face Democrat Melissa Fox for DeVore’s seat in November.

Wagner’s son Paul, 20, was found dead Saturday in his car in a Newport Beach parking structure. Police said there appeared to be no foul play or suicide. An autopsy revealed Wagner had an enlarged heart, relatives said. A toxicology report is due out in six to eight weeks and could show if Wagner’s bipolar medication played a role in his death, as his family suspects.

While many celebrated the elder Wagner’s victory Tuesday night, that’s not what was on the politician’s mind Wednesday.

“To be perfectly honest, my plans are to have a funeral for my son on Friday, a memorial on Sunday and then start looking beyond,” Wagner said. “Last night was, frankly, quite difficult. There’s no one who would’ve been more excited and jumping around more than Paul. We were up quite late last night, and we weren’t just looking at election returns.”

He added, “I truly want to thank everyone in the community who’s been so respectful and gracious. It really means a lot to us.”

State Sen. Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) lost in his bid for state attorney general, running in a distant third among Republicans with 18.5%, or 288,352 votes. Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley won for the Republicans with 47.3% of the vote. Cooley will face off against San Francisco prosecutor Kamala Harris, a Democrat, in November.

Current Atty. Gen. Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown won the Democratic nomination for governor and will campaign against former EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman, who won the Republican nomination Tuesday night over Steve Poizner. Brown was elected as California’s 34th governor in 1975.