Elections 2018: In the 46th, Rep. Lou Correa is favored to stave off Russell Lambert

If recent voter registration patterns continue, Orange County will turn blue — with more registered Democrats than registered Republicans — within a few months, if not weeks.

But the blue tide has been on the rise for years among voters who live in what is now known as California’s 46th Congressional District. The district, which now includes Anaheim and Santa Ana — and is considered the most liberal in Orange County — started sending Democrats to Washington three decades ago.

In 1996, voters in the area sent Democrat Loretta Sanchez to the House. Two years ago, as Sanchez ran a failed bid for U.S. Senate, a similar group of voters picked current Rep. Lou Correa, another Democrat, as her replacement.

This year, political forecasters see Correa as an overwhelming favorite to be re-elected.

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His GOP challenger, Russell Lambert, hasn’t raised much money or done much to build name recognition. And in a district that has among nation’s the highest percentage of immigrant residents, meaning many legal voters are connected to people who lack legal documents, Lambert stridently favors tougher enforcement of immigration laws.

Correa opposes sending non-criminal immigrants back to their countries of origin, and would like to help them gain a path to citizenship. He also supports government-supported health care, strong environmental protection and a quick transition to alternative energy sources.