ANAHEIM, Calif. — One of the nation's top election battlegrounds just attracted the Democrats' biggest star, former President Barack Obama.

The question now is whether the party can capitalize on the visit to keep up the momentum it'll need to win congressional seats in November.

Obama's Saturday appearance — only his second after ripping into President Donald Trump in an Illinois speech — reflects how high the stakes are in California's Orange County, known for Disneyland, surfing and right-wing politics.

"I am absolutely confident these candidates are going to win," Obama said to a cheering crowd at the Anaheim Convention Center, surrounded by a bevy of congressional hopefuls. But Republicans, who boast they still hold two-thirds of elective posts in the county — from Congress to local water boards — have their own plans for victory, backed by a strong economy.

This is the county that has long been their own. Richard Nixon was born here, the airport is named for John Wayne and it has been the political base for colorful conservatives like former Rep. Robert "B-1 Bob" Dornan.

Little by little, Democrats have made inroads. Orange County has seen an influx of Latino and Asian immigrants and it's home to more high-tech companies with their white-collar workforces.

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From an 18.5 percentage-point registration advantage in 1999, Republicans have seen the margin narrow to 2.7 percentage points as of May, the California Secretary of State's office reports. The biggest political shock came in the 2016 presidential election when Orange County voters chose Hillary Clinton over Trump.

The goal for Democrats now is to ride anti-Trump sentiment and turn out voters in November.

"The big blue wave starts right here in Orange County." Eric Bauman, chair of California Democratic Party, told the hundreds of supporters ahead of Obama's speech.

Among the congressional contests, one of the closest appears to be the one between Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and Democratic challenger Harley Rouda. In June, the Los Angeles Times reported the pair were locked in a statistical dead heat.

Expect more close races. Given the registration trends, Democrats should take the lead in Orange County by 2020, predicts Fred Smoller, a political science professor at Chapman University in Orange, Calif. Many of the new voters will be Latinos. He said immigrants are "much more moderate in their views," he said, leading them to register Democratic.

Republicans say they aren't worried. While the Democrats focus on trying to drum up the anti-Trump vote, the county's Republican party is trying to draw voters to bread-and-butter issues closer to home. In particular, officials say voters will be motivated to turn out by the chance to repeal a boost to the gasoline tax, passed by the Democratic-controlled California Legislature, to repair roads. The issue has already has claimed one state legislator through a recall.

"Democrats have only one play to get back power and that's flip the House," said Fred Whitaker, chairman of the Republican Party of Orange County. "Our voters are so mad about what's going on in Sacramento."

It's Democrats, he adds, that face an "enthusiasm gap."



