For the first time since Franklin D. Roosevelt, a majority in Orange County voted for a Democrat

The longtime Republican Party bastion of Orange County voted for a Democratic candidate for the first time since 1936, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected for his second term. The historic loss represents a growing uphill climb for Republicans in California; the party saw registered Republicans in California drop to 26% from 29.8%, ultimately losing Orange County by almost 5%.

By Priya Krishnakumar, Jon Schleuss and Joe Fox

Presidential election results, 1936-2016

’36 ’44 ’52 ’60 ’68 ’76 ’84 ’92 ’00 ’08 ’16 20 40 60 80% Percent of vote (D) Percent of vote (R) Data: abcdefg hijkl mnop qrstu vwxyz 1234 56789 P. Krishnakumar / @latimesgraphics Source: California secretary of state 1936 55% Democratic 43.3% Republican 201649.8% Democratic 44.9% Republican

How did Orange County vote in the past two elections?

While Republicans won Orange County by 6 points in 2012, the county's shifting demographic makeup led to shrinking margins of victory. Democrats won handily in many of the most populous cities. While traditionally Republican strongholds ultimately delivered Orange County to Mitt Romney in 2012, Democratic inroads expanded in 2016, allowing Hillary Clinton to win.

2012

2016

Voters in areas with lower household incomes and higher percentages of minority voters voted decisively for Barack Obama in 2012, and voted in even higher percentages for Hillary Clinton.

Annual median household income

Sources: Orange County Registrar of Voters, American Community Survey 2015, Statewide Database at U.C. Berkeley Law