National politics has spilled into a race for a seat on the Orange County commission, as mailers charge that one candidate supports socialism and wants open borders, while another ad shows the opposing candidate wearing a pro-Trump “Make America Great Again” hat.
The two candidates in the newly created District 7 seat, Patricia Rumph and Vicki Vargo, are both registered Democrats. But Vargo was a Republican for a quarter-century before switching her party affiliation and entering the race.
Party labels often play a major role in Board of County Commissioners elections despite the offices being officially non-partisan. In a heavily
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