California's Final Congressional Race Is Decided As Incumbent Falls

LOS ANGELES, CA — Democrat Adam Gray won California’s 13th Congressional District Tuesday, becoming the state's third Democratic challenger to unseat a Republican incumbent.

The race, was the final U.S. House contest to be decided this year. It was also the closest — decided by 187 votes as of Tuesday night when state elections officials reported that all ballots had been counted. According to the California Secretary of State, Gray garnered 105,554 votes to Rep. John Duarte's 105,367..

It was a rematch between Gray and Duarte, who squared off two years ago. Gray’s win in the five-county central valley farm belt means Republicans won 220 House seats this election cycle, with Democrats holding 215 seats. It also, means that the Grand Old Party lost 25 percent of its congressional delegation in California. Rep. Michelle Steel and Rep. Mike Garcia also lost their seats this election, leaving the Republican Party with just nine of the state's 52 House members. The national Democratic Party spent millions targeting vulnerable Republicans in the state, in a strategy that paid off.

Duarte captured the seat in 2022 when he defeated Gray by one of the closest margins in the country, 564 votes. He was often listed among the most vulnerable House Republicans given that narrow margin of victory in a district with a Democratic tilt — about 11 points over registered Republicans.

Gray said in a statement: “We always knew that this race would be as close as they come, and we’re expecting a photo finish this year, too.”

Duarte told the Turlock Journal he had called Gray to concede, adding “That’s how it goes."

“I’m a citizen legislator, and I didn’t plan on being in Congress forever,” Duarte told the newspaper, though he didn't rule out a possible future campaign. After all, Gray went on to win two years after losing the seat by 564 votes to Duarte in 2022.

Both Gray and Duarte stressed bipartisan credentials during the campaign.

Gray, a former legislator, was critical of state water management and put water and agriculture at the top of his issues list. He also said he wants improvements in infrastructure, renewable energy and education.

Duarte, a businessman and major grape and almond farmer, said his priorities included curbing inflation, crime rates and obtaining adequate water supplies for farmers in the drought-prone state.

SEE ALSO: CA's Remaining Congressional Races Take Dramatic Turns

There is a large Latino population in the district, similar to other Central Valley seats, but the most likely voters statewide tend to be white, older, more affluent homeowners. Working-class voters, including many Latinos, are less consistent in getting to the polls.

The district marks the closest congressional race in the nation, but California's 45th is a close second. In both districts, the Republican incumbents lost to their Democratic challengers by less than 1 percent.

As the nation’s most populous state, California is consistently among the slowest to report all its election results.Four years ago, in California almost one-third of ballots were uncounted after election night, and the state was making almost daily updates to its count through Dec. 3, a full month after Election Day.

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP Political Writer contributed to this report.