Political expert predicts Orange County will soon be majority Democrat

(FOX 11) - Harley Rouda and Dana Rohrabacher couldn't be more different but they both agree on one thing: their race isn't over.

Rohrabacher's team said he wasn't available for an interview but say "There are still approximately 100k ballots to count from the 48th district which we will monitor at the registrar of voters until the race is called, one way or the other."

Political experts disagree with the men though - they're already calling Rouda the winner, and they are forecasting big changes for Orange County

"The Republican lock on elections in this area is over," said Fred Smoller, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Chapman University.

Chapman University political science expert Fred Smoller says Tuesday night in Orange County was historic.

Two out of four congressional races went blue, including Harley Rouda's win over 30 year incumbent Dana Rohrabacher.

"He beat him. It's not a couple hundred votes. It is very significant," said Smoller.

Significant partly because of Rohrabacher's reputation.

"He had the connection to Putin. This is a guy in a coastal district who denies climate change, he has some personality factors," said Smoller.

On Wednesday we sat down exclusively with his opponent, Harley Rouda, who is watching results trickle in with his family.

"I've probably drank more Red Bull in the last 24 hours than I have in the last few nights," said Rouda.

There could be more long nights ahead...if Rouda wins.

"The first step is where we can find bipartisan support, I think the number one issue we should be looking at is infrastructure," said Rouda.

He's also planning to diverge from Rohrabacher and will push for Trump's tax returns.

He's even leaving the door open for possible impeachment.

"I think the thing we need to understand are whether there are any conflict of interest based on his income sources and his relationships around the world....We need to give Mueller the time to do the breath of his investigation and go from there," said Rouda.

But where does Orange County as a whole go from here?

Smoller says after last night, the County can no longer be considered red.

"The overall demographics are increased people of color increase Latinos, increase Asians. They are now trending to Democrats. In six months, the Democratic Party will be the majority party," said Smoller.