Laguna Niguel City Councilmember Stephanie Oddo has announced she’s running for California State Senate in District 37, the competitive Orange County seat currently held by Republican Steven Choi of Irvine.SD-37 covers central Orange County and is centered on Irvine. It includes substantial portions of Irvine, Costa Mesa, Tustin, Orange, Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Villa Park, and parts of neighboring communities.
Choi, a former Irvine mayor and state assemblymember, flipped the seat in 2024 by narrowly defeating Democrat Josh Newman (50.7% to 49.3%). He assumed office in December 2024. He has no record of accomplishment as a state senator and is termed out.
The district leans slightly Democratic in presidential years but remains very much in play, which is why any credible challenger immediately draws attention.
Oddo, elected to the Laguna Niguel council in 2022, has built a record focused on balanced budgets without new taxes or debt, fire safety, open space, road funding, and regional roles including chairing the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency (the 73 toll road) and the Orange County Housing and Community Development Commission. She’s a lifelong civic organizer with nonprofit, business, and government experience who previously founded a PPE distribution effort during the pandemic. Her announcement positions her as a pragmatic, results-oriented local official ready to take on Sacramento’s bigger fights from a South County base that sits squarely inside the district.
On the Republican side, don’t be surprised if party leaders and donors start quietly (or not so quietly) pushing Irvine Vice Mayor James Mai as their preferred candidate or heir apparent. Mai, elected in 2024 as the first Vietnamese American to hold elected office in Irvine, currently serves as vice mayor. He’s a business executive with a consulting background, serves on regional boards including as vice chair of the Orange County Power Authority, and has emphasized neighborhood safety, economic development, and putting “people over politics.” In a district that includes a large share of Irvine and significant Asian American communities, Mai would give Republicans a high-profile local face with crossover appeal—exactly the profile the party likes to elevate in swing OC seats.
TheLiberalOC has watched this district for years. Democrats took it with Dave Min in 2020, lost it narrowly in 2024, and now face the task of flipping it back in a midterm or subsequent cycle. Oddo’s entry puts a sitting councilmember with South County roots into the mix early. Whether she consolidates progressive and moderate Democratic support, and whether Republicans settle on Mai or someone else, will shape the race.
One thing is clear: SD-37 is not a free ride for either party, and the jockeying has begun.
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