Republican national boss to stump for Rohrabacher in Laguna Niguel in razor-thin House race

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel will visit Orange County on Wednesday to support the re-election bid of 30-year incumbent Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa), who is fighting for his political life in a razor-thin race against Democratic businessman Harley Rouda.

McDaniel’s visit — the latest in a string of high-profile political personalities to come to Southern California — underscores how competitive the race has become for the once soundly-GOP 48th Congressional District.

Rohrabacher’s seat is one of four GOP-held congressional districts in Orange County – and seven in the state – that Democrats are targeting as some of the 23 seats they’ll need to gain to retake control of the U.S. House of Representative. All of those districts, including Rohrabacher’s, supported Hillary Clinton over President Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

The pivotal contests have attracted millions of dollars in outside spending from partisan and special interest groups. In recent weeks, the races also have drawn big names to Orange County: former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, and hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer (one of the top Democratic donors in the nation) all have visited the county in the past six weeks. Trump, on the other hand, has made o indication that he’ll come to town.

News of McDaniel’s visit comes the same day that several media outlets reported she had accepted an offer from Trump to stay on as leader of the Republican National Committee through the 2020 presidential election. McDaniel was an early supporter of Trump.

McDaniel will meet with GOP volunteers and speak alongside Rohrabacher beginning at 9 a.m. at the Republican Party of California’s Laguna Niguel office, 30012 Crowne Valley Parkway, Suite K.