OC Supervisor Don Wagner on Wednesday announced that he’s running for California’s secretary of state, the first Republican challenger to enter the race.

The position oversees elections in California. Wagner will be attempting to unseat incumbent Secretary of State Shirley Weber, who is running for reelection in 2026.

“I’ve been looking at the fact that around the state, voters are distrustful of the election system,” Wagner said.

Whether they are right or wrong in that perception, Wagner said the office of the secretary of state needs to work on making sure voters have strong faith in how elections are run.

Wagner has been on the OC Board of Supervisors representing the Third District since 2019. He’s previously been the mayor of Irvine and was a state assemblymember.

Wagner says current distrust of the state’s voting system is clear to him from not only speaking with voters but from polls showing strong support for a proposed 2026 voter ID ballot initiative.

Read the full article at THE OC REGISTER

###