California’s 47th District House Race 2026

Coastal Orange County communities are holding free public events Friday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people and reshaped American security and daily life.

In Costa Mesa, the nonprofit 9/11 Day — founded by relatives of a volunteer firefighter lost that day — will host its annual "Honor Through Action" meal-packing event, with hundreds of volunteers aiming to pack more than 200,000 meals for families facing food insecurity, part of a nationwide effort seeking to top 50 million meals across all 50 states.

Huntington Beach will hold its annual Patriot Day celebration at Pier Plaza, led by Mayor Casey McKeon in partnership with American Legion Post 133, honoring fallen first responders and civilians. In Newport Beach, the Newport Harbor Elks Lodge and Sons of the American Legion Squadron 291 will host a remembrance ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park, open to the public with refreshments and a no-host bar for lodge members.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaking Wednesday in Orlando, weighed in on Florida's primary results and a scandal involving one of his own appointees. He dismissed Angie Nixon's chances against Sen. Ashley Moody in November, calling the progressive state lawmaker's Senate bid unlikely to succeed statewide, and touted Florida's growing GOP voter registration advantage. He also backed Ryan Elijah, who defeated embattled Rep. Cory Mills in the GOP primary, saying Mills' nomination would have put the seat at risk in the general election.

DeSantis called the arrest of Michael Caruso, whom he appointed Palm Beach County clerk of courts, a "gut punch." Caruso, 67, a former state representative once praised by DeSantis, faces five felony charges including kidnapping, molestation, luring and enticing a child, lewd and lascivious exhibition, and child abuse. Authorities say the victim, Caruso's grandson under age 12, described abuse on three occasions, including during a Thanksgiving 2024 incident and aboard a cruise ship in August 2025. Caruso denied the allegations when confronted and is being held without bond in Orange County. DeSantis suspended Caruso and installed an interim clerk; Attorney General James Uthmeier said Caruso would "face the full force of the law," and reports indicate a daughter had previously made similar allegations.

California voters head to the polls in November to decide statewide and local races alongside 14 ballot propositions, including a closely watched "billionaires tax" measure and a recall-process reform. San Diego County's voter guide outlines a packed slate of contests, with voter pamphlets mailed in late September and ballots beginning to arrive October 5.

Key federal races include five competitive U.S. House districts (48–52), pitting incumbents and challengers from both parties after redistricting reshaped several seats. State Senate and Assembly races feature multiple incumbents defending seats, while the California State Board of Equalization's District 4 race pits a local water official against a sitting state senator.

Locally, San Diego County voters will also choose county supervisors, school board members, and city officials across numerous municipalities including San Diego, Chula Vista, Carlsbad, Escondido, Oceanside, and others, alongside mayoral races and special district seats covering healthcare, water, and community college boards. The wide-ranging ballot reflects a highly competitive election cycle across Southern California.

Orange County, Florida voters on Nov. 3 will pick a new mayor from Democrat Tiffany Moore Russell and Republican Chris Messina, while also voting on Amendment 3, a statewide measure to phase out property taxes on primary homes. Moore Russell opposes the amendment and says she'd cut vacant positions, review contracts and freeze hiring to offset losses; Messina supports it and favors zero-based budgeting and selling unused county assets. Analysts estimate the county could lose hundreds of millions in general fund and public safety tax revenue if the measure passes. Moore Russell led the August primary, and the race has become the costliest in county history.

An Ohio appeals court has ruled that the state's EdChoice and EdChoice Expansion voucher programs, which direct more than $1 billion in taxpayer money to private schools, violate the Ohio Constitution's requirement for a "thorough and efficient" system of common schools. The unanimous three-judge panel found private schools face less oversight, can selectively admit students, and divert funding from public schools, which have limited options in rural areas. The ruling is stayed pending appeal, and outgoing Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson says he will take the case to the Ohio Supreme Court, arguing the program supports family choice rather than harming public schools.

The decision was welcomed by Policy Matters Ohio, teachers' unions, and a coalition of roughly 300 school districts that sued over the programs, who say lawmakers should return to a bipartisan school funding formula left unfunded for two years. The case now heads to Ohio's Supreme Court, where the outcome could have major political implications given mounting public frustration over vouchers, property taxes, and rising electricity costs ahead of the state's upcoming elections.

Long Beach is redesigning Studebaker Road as the largest piece yet of its 25-year push to build 300 miles of connected bikeways by 2040. The $65 million, five-mile project, funded by 13 federal, state and local agencies, adds 9-foot-wide protected bike lanes, concrete medians replacing bollards, raised bus stops, greenways and new sidewalks and curb ramps. It is meant to be finished before the 2028 Olympics.

The plan has drawn strong opposition from some residents and drivers who call the design impractical and costly, citing construction disruption, dirt piles blocking sightlines, and traffic backups from buses now stopping in-lane rather than pulling into turnouts. City officials and traffic planners defend the project as safer and more efficient long-term, pointing to record traffic deaths — 53 in 2025 and 36 so far this year — as justification for redesigning streets. Similar work is underway or planned on Clark, Pacific, Orange and Artesia. Officials and cycling advocates describe the effort as generational, comparing it to Amsterdam's decades-long transformation into a bike-friendly city.

A new academic study finds that California's 2019 law mandating later school start times is producing measurable benefits for students. The law, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom after his predecessor Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill in 2018, requires middle schools to start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m., a mandate that took effect for the 2022-23 school year.

Researchers examined data from 2022 to 2025 and published their findings in a National Bureau of Economic Research report. They found students are sleeping more, reporting fewer mental health issues, and scoring better on math and English tests. Gains were seen across demographic groups but were especially pronounced among boys and Latino students.

The law had faced years of opposition from parents and education officials concerned about disruptions to extracurricular activities and family schedules, with critics arguing it would burden working families. Supporters cited backing from groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC, which linked early start times to sleep deprivation and related harms in adolescents.

Orange County, Florida, commissioners are holding their final public hearing and vote on a proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget exceeding $9 billion. Mayor Jerry Demings said the plan prioritizes public safety, infrastructure, housing, economic development and quality-of-life initiatives, with more than $1 billion allocated to first responders and other public safety services, funded largely by property tax revenue.

The county faces potential fiscal pressure if a statewide Amendment 3 passes in November, which could cut property tax revenue by an estimated $165 million in 2027 and $275 million in 2028, potentially forcing spending cuts or new revenue sources. Transportation funding is also strained, with the purchasing power of transportation dollars down about 42% since 2019 and road construction and resurfacing costs sharply higher. Commissioners are expected to also address homelessness and affordable housing needs during the vote at the Orange County Administration Center.