Democrats reclaimed the ultimate congressional seat within the 2024 election cycle on Tuesday as Merced Democrat Adam Gray ousted incumbent Republican Rep. John Duarte in a photo-finish race in California’s Central Valley.
California’s thirteenth congressional district was the final excellent race for the U.S. House of Representatives and had the closest margin within the nation. Gray was forward by 187 votes when Duarte conceded Tuesday evening.
After trailing within the first three weeks of vote counting, Gray took the lead on November 26 when mail-in ballots had been tipped in his favor.
Gray, 47, mentioned in a ready assertion Tuesday that he was honored to be elected and thanked the volunteers, voters, donors, marketing campaign employees and relations who helped him win.
“This district is prepared for impartial, accountable management that all the time places the folks of the Valley above partisan politics,” Gray mentioned.
Gray mentioned he’ll work to construct bipartisan relationships and supply “clear water, higher academic alternatives, stronger infrastructure and extra good-paying jobs.”
Duarte conceded Tuesday night, a marketing campaign spokesman mentioned.
“That’s the way it goes,” Duarte mentioned Turlock’s diary on Tuesday. “I’m a citizen legislator and I had no intention of staying in Congress eternally. But each time I believe I could make a distinction, I’ll think about public service in several varieties, together with operating for Congress.”
Republicans will maintain a slim majority within the House of Representatives subsequent 12 months. With Gray’s victory, Republicans will acquire 220 seats – simply above the 218-seat threshold wanted to regulate the House – and Democrats will maintain 215.
The GOP can have a fair narrower majority for elements of January. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) resigned from the House final month. Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida has been tapped to function President-elect Donald Trump’s nationwide safety adviser and is predicted to step down, as will Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York if she is confirmed as U.N. ambassador.
The thirteenth Congressional District was one of a half-dozen places in California seen as pivotal within the battle for management of Congress, and was one in every of three within the state the place Democrats broke away from Republican management.
In Orange County, Democrat Derek Tran ousted Republican Rep. Michelle Steel and, in northern Los Angeles County, Democrat George Whitesides hit Republican Rep. Mike Garcia. Democrats additionally retained a seat vacated by Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine), with state Sen. Dave Min beating Republican Scott Baugh.
Republicans fared higher within the Central Valley’s different swing district, the place Rep. David Valadao defeated Democrat Rudy Salas by almost 7 factors. Salas filed on Tuesday to run for Congress once more in 2026.
The GOP additionally had a seat in Riverside County, the place voters forged ballots re-elected Longtime Republican Congressman Ken Calvert over Democrat Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor.
Read extra: In a “purple” district in California, a Republican congressman fights to defend a seat he won with 564 votes
The rural thirteenth Congressional District stretches from Coalinga to Modesto, encompassing Merced County and elements of Fresno, Madera, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.
The district seems blue on paper, with 42% of registered voters affiliated with the Democratic Party, in comparison with 29% registered as Republican and 22% registered with no celebration choice.
But the Central Valley is more purple in comparison with the deep blue districts surrounding the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and the realm’s conservative Democrats typically cross celebration strains to elect Republicans.
The 2024 marketing campaign was a rematch of 2022, when Duarte beat Gray by 564 votes, the second-closest margin within the nation.
This 12 months, Duarte campaigned to decrease the worth of fuel and the price of residing. Duarte, whose household owns a big farm within the San Joaquin Valley, pitched himself to voters as a average Republican, saying he opposed his celebration on abortion and immigration, sticking as an alternative to middle-of-the-road coverage proposals.
Gray known as himself a “radical centrist,” pointing to his ten years within the state Assembly as proof that he may work throughout celebration strains. In August, he informed the Times that he selected to run in opposition to Duarte once more as a result of he thought the present president and Republicans had achieved little in Congress to assist peculiar Americans.
This story initially appeared in Los Angeles Times.
