Four candidates face off in Santa Ana, California's mayoral election

Four candidates are running in Santa Ana, California's mayoral race: Sal Tinajero, Jose Solorio, Valerie Amezcua and Jesse Nestor.

Polls closed in the state at 8 p.m. local time, or 11 p.m. EST.

First-term Democratic Mayor Vicente Sarmiento stepped down to run for an Orange County Board of Supervisors seat, leaving his seat up for grabs. Elections for the Santa Ana City Council are nonpartisan, but the city has a history of electing Democrats and Democratic-leaning candidates to fill the mayoral position: prior to Sarmiento's time as mayor, the seat was held for nearly three decades by former Mayor Miguel Pulido, a Democrat. Prior to Pulido, the seat was held by Daniel H. Young, who switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party two years into his term.

In 2012, voters approved a limit of four two-year consecutive terms, and this year, they will again vote to decide on lifetime term limits for mayor and city council members.

Tinajero, who is endorsed by the Orange County Democratic Party, leads the Santa Ana Unified School District's speech and debate program and previously served on the Santa Ana City Council for more than a decade. He is campaigning on addressing housing issues.

Solorio, also a former council member, work for the Moulton Niguel Water District. He previously represented the 69th District in the California State Assembly for six years. Solorio is running with a goal to lower crime rates and tackle homelessness.

Amezcua is a retired county probation officer and a member of the Santa Ana Unified Board of Education. She has the bulk of the support of the police union.

The fourth candidate, Nestor, is a 20-year-old self-described libertarian who currently attends Santa Ana College. He is endorsed by the Libertarian Party of Orange County.