Election victory

Late surge sets California Dems up for another major election victory

By Lester Black

A late surge in votes has pushed a California Democrat into the lead in a congressional race, setting the party up to take three House seats away from sitting Republicans during an election year that otherwise has roundly rejected the liberal cause. 

Democratic candidate Adam Gray pulled ahead of incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. John Duarte by 105 votes in a Tuesday evening vote tally for the 13th Congressional District, located in California’s Central Valley. Gray trailed Duarte in the three weeks of ballot drops since Election Day.

Gray is the third Democratic challenger to surpass a House Republican incumbent since election day. George Whitesides flipped a GOP seat after he beat Rep. Mike Garcia in the 27th Congressional District, located in northern Los Angeles County. And in Orange County, Democrat candidate Derek Tran has declared victory after taking the lead over Rep. Michelle Steel in the 45th Congressional District.

Republicans have already secured 219 seats in the House of Representatives, enough to control the chamber over Democrats’ current control of 213 seats, but their narrow majority means that the party could lose control if enough GOP members retire or face surprise illnesses during the next Congress. That means these potential Democratic wins in California could have a substantial influence on national politics.

Tran is ahead by 613 votes in the latest tally and declared victory on Tuesday, but the Associated Press has not called the race and Steel has yet to concede. Steel’s campaign did not return SFGATE’s request for comment.

In Gray’s District 13 race, the AP estimates that 99% of the votes have been counted. The Democrat’s razor-thin lead is far from a guaranteed win, though, as at least one county within the district is still reporting thousands of ballots left to be processed.

Regardless of the final outcome, these tiny majorities mean that California is home to the closest vote counts in the country. Congressional District 1 in Iowa is the country’s only other uncalled House race, with the Republican incumbent leading by 800 votes, according to the New York Times. The two remaining races in California are close enough that they could easily come down to recounts, although according to California law election, certification cannot be delayed while a recount proceeds.