Will road to control of Congress run through California? A look at 9 key U.S. House races
This story has been updated.
As each day passes, it becomes more likely that California’s congressional elections will determine which party controls the U.S. House in January.
Most of the nation’s 19 undecided congressional races are in California, with millions of votes left to be counted. Democrats, who now hold the majority, have won 204 seats thus far, while Republicans have won 212, according to the Associated Press. Whichever party gets 218 will win the speakership.
It remains likely that the state will determine whether Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, or Kevin McCarthy, a Bakersfield Republican, will hold the speaker’s gavel.
“The House is really going to come down to California,” David Wasserman, an editor of the election-tracking Cook Political Report, said on MSNBC Friday.
Here’s a snapshot of where the nine key California races stand, as of Tuesday afternoon:
- District 3 (areas east of Sacramento): Republican Kevin Kiley leads with 53% of the vote. Democrat Kermit Jones has 47%.
- District 9 (Stockton): Democratic Rep. Josh Harder leads with 56.3%. Republican Tom Patti has 43.7%.
- District 13 (Modesto south to Fresno): Democrat Adam Gray leads with 50.4%. Republican John Duarte has 49.6%.
- District 22 (Visalia to Bakersfield): Republican Rep. David Valadao leads with 52.7%. Democrat Rudy Salas has 47.3%.
- District 27 (Santa Clarita): Republican Rep. Mike Garcia leads with 54.4%. Democrat Christy Smith has 45.6%.
- District 41 (south of Riverside to Palm Springs): Republican Rep. Ken Calvert leads with 51.6%. Democrat Will Rollins has 48.4%. The Associated Press has called this race for Calvert.
- District 45 (Orange County): Republican Rep. Michelle Steel leads with 53.8%. Democrat Jay Chen has 46.2%. The Associated Press has called this race for Steel.
- District 47 (Orange County): Democratic Rep. Katie Porter leads with 50.6%. Republican Scott Baugh has 49.4%.
- District 49 (southern Orange County, northern San Diego County): Democratic Rep. Mike Levin leads with 52.5%. Republican Brian Maryott has 47.5%.
This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Will road to control of Congress run through California? A look at 9 key U.S. House races."