Karina Onofre, an Irvine resident for the past few years and a Democrat for most of her political life, has secured some heavy hitters to endorse her race against the awful Matt Harper in AD-74.
Those backing Onofre for Assembly include:
*Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez
*Senator Lou Correa
*Rancho Santiago Community College Trustee, John Hanna
*CA Democratic District Director, Florice Hoffman
*OC LULAC President, Benny Diaz
Onofre failed to secure the DPOC pre-convention endorsement at Saturday’s meeting, which I feel is short-sighted on the delegates part. Voters in AD-74 were introduced to Onofre in 2014 when she challenged fellow Democrat Anila Ali; both lost to the Republicans with Matt Harper pulling off an upset over Keith Curry of Newport Beach in November. There are many who, in my opinion, unfairly blamed Onofre for preventing Ali’s rise to the top two when the real culprit was poor Democratic turnout for the June primary.
For voters in AD-74 who want someone who will fight for a fair share of state education dollars, Onofre is your candidate.
I totally agree with you. Great article !!
OC democratic party is weak because it has too many egos and virtually no leadership . They need to unite and put their differences behind them. They need to endorse who ever runs against this right wing wacko.
This brave young lady putting herself on the line is admirable and we need to support her.
We all make mistakes and we evolve as human , we get older and wiser. Ali needs to get over it. She may had a chance in the primary, but she would have gotten slaughtered in the general. I think Onofre saved her the embarrassment
41.00% Republican
28.73% Democratic
Game over ……
One of the most dramatic endorsement outcomes occurred in a race with one Democrat running, Karina Onofre’s bid to unseat Assemblyman Matthew Harper, R-Huntington Beach, in a heavily GOP district. Only five people voted for her endorsement, while 14 voted against it.
The opposition came largely because, in 2014, Onofre changed from Republican to Democrat and then ran for Assembly, splitting the vote with Democratic activist Anila Ali and allowing two Republicans to advance to the general election. “There are still a lot of hard feelings,” noted Henry Vandermeir, chairman of the county Democratic Party.
OC Register –
well, unless another Democrat jumps in the race, our Party chairman ought to suck it up and back Ms. Onofre’s candidacy. Yes, the odds are great but I don’t see anyone else jumping in to challenge.
That was a BIG deal, what she did to Democrats in 2014. Beyond that, she is substance-free, our own Sarah Palin. Her whole platform is “I’m pretty, young, and hispanic.”
Last time she was a Democrat, a few years ago, she came looking for the Los Amigos endorsements, but couldn’t think of a position on any issues. They told her to go home, study some current events, and come back another year.
Henry is right here – the DPOC’s endorsement ought to mean SOMETHING.
well, DPOC endorses Greg when he runs for an office but barely campaigns. Karina gets out there and does campaign. DPOPC endorsements should mean something unless its not given to a candidate you prefer. Iyad spoke at a meeting insisting no DPOC endorsement for any candidate who endorses Republicans when the party has an endorsed candidate in the race. The criticism was directed at Jordan, rightfully so. But that also applies to Dr. Moreno who backed Tait over Galloway.
(correction – I should have said “Los Amigos support” – they don’t endorse.)