Santa Ana mayor race: Amezcua led on election night, but later counts tightened

Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua took the early lead in her reelection bid on election night. The Orange County Registrar of Voters' first unofficial results, posted at 8:07 p.m. Nov. 3, gave her 14,564 votes (50.28%).

Attorney Dan Shimell was second with 10,651 votes (36.77%), and Dwayne Shipp had 3,750 (12.95%). The registrar's first election-night release covers vote-by-mail ballots, with in-person results added later that night.

The gap did not hold. A later NBC Los Angeles results table had the race nearly tied, and the table on NBC's Nov. 4 story showed Shimell ahead with 26,155 votes (44.91%) to Amezcua's 24,332 (41.78%), with Shipp at 7,749 (13.31%). Nothing is final until the county certifies the results.

Who's running

Amezcua won in 2022 as Santa Ana's first female mayor, according to LAist. She served eight years on the Santa Ana Unified School District board and worked as a supervising probation officer for the county. She has backed anti-camping and tough-on-crime policies and is endorsed by the Santa Ana Police Officers Association.

Shimell is a commercial litigation attorney. He told LAist the 2025 ICE raids pushed him to run. He is endorsed by the Santa Ana Educators Association and Councilmember Benjamin Vazquez.

Shipp is president of the Orange County Heritage Council and sits on the city's Community Development Commission. NBC Los Angeles reports he has conceded.

Why this race got heated

Immigration enforcement became a central issue. In June 2025, hundreds of people turned out to a council meeting to criticize Amezcua over her response to federal immigration raids in the city, amid growing calls for her to resign, ABC7 reported. Critics said she condemned protesters but not ICE agents.

On Election Day, Amezcua told NBC Los Angeles, "I could have been that louder voice," and pointed to items she brought to the council agenda to direct city funding to families. Shimell said elected leaders should be "using our platform" to "stand up to ICE."

Homelessness, public safety and the city budget were also on the table. Santa Ana has more than 300,000 residents and is Orange County's second-largest city, according to LAist.

Also on the Santa Ana ballot

Partial results reported by NBC Los Angeles showed Councilmember Benjamin Vazquez leading in Ward 2, challenger Sandra De Anda ahead of incumbent Phil Bacerra in Ward 4, and Isuri Ramos leading in Ward 6. Measure N, which LAist describes as the city's proposed sales tax measure, was passing with about 67% yes.

What’s next

The Orange County Registrar of Voters posts updated counts daily at 5 p.m. until the results are certified. Check ocvote.gov for the latest tally.