Carchio eyeing 74th District run

A Huntington Beach councilman is eyeing a run for the newly redrawn 74th Assembly District, which also spans Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine and Laguna Beach.

If he declares a run, Joe Carchio, 74, would face Assemblyman Allan Mansoor and Newport Councilwoman Leslie Daigle.

Each candidate is a Republican. No Democrats have declared. The coastal Orange County district is majority Republican.

Carchio also weighed a run for Huntington Beach’s 72nd District but lives just outside that district’s lines and would have had to move. The California Constitution dictates that legislators must live in the districts they represent.

In other words, if Carchio opts to run for Assembly, he won’t be facing off against fellow Huntington Beach Councilman Matthew Harper, who has officially declared his candidacy for the 72nd District.

Carchio said if he enters the race, the district itself won’t be an issue.

“If I decided to run, it wouldn’t really make a difference where I ran,” he said. “I would just throw my hat into the ring. But obviously, I would have to run for a district where I live.”

Candidates will officially be able to file paperwork with the registrar Dec. 30.

— Michael Miller

Twitter: @MichaelMillerHB