Josh Harder leads Tom Patti in close race for Stockton, California congressional district
A congressman and a county supervisor are contending to represent Stockton in one of the midterm contests that could tip the House of Representatives into Republicans’ hands in 2023.
It’s still too early to tell, but so far, Democratic Rep. Josh Harder was holding on tight, leading with more than 56% of the votes, according to the Associated Press. Forty-seven percent of the votes had been counted.
Harder and San Joaquin County supervisor Tom Patti, a Republican, are running to represent California’s new 9th Congressional District. While analysts give Harder, D-Tracy, a slight advantage, they warn that a widely forecast national GOP trend could carry Patti to victory.
The 9th, formed when legislative lines were redrawn based on new census data, covers most of San Joaquin County from Thornton to Tracy. It would have backed President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and has more registered Democrats than Republicans.
But the party that holds the White House usually loses ground in midterm elections. Concerns about the economy have rallied Republicans, according to polls released the week prior to the election. And Democratic turnout could be hindered by the absence of hotly-contested races at the top of the ticket for governor and U.S. Senate.
Harder, 36, has represented the Central Valley in Congress since 2019, after the Turlock native unseated Republican Rep. Jeff Denham in California’s 10th Congressional District. That district will be spliced up and phased out when new legislative maps take hold in January.
When Congressman Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton, said he would not run in the new 9th, Harder took his campaign there. He currently represents the bottom third of that district.
Patti, 59, was elected to the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors in 2016. He owns and operates Delta Cranes, which his father started in the Stockton area. Once an amateur boxer, Patti trained with Mike Tyson and the legendary Cus D’Amato in New York.
Both candidates name improving water access, health care and homelessness issues among their top legislative priorities.
Other Central Valley elections
The Central Valley is home to two other tight House midterms in the 13th and 22nd Congressional Districts.
The 13th and 22nd are toss-ups. Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, faces farmer John Duarte, a Republican, in the 13th. Assemblyman Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield, challenges Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, in the 22nd.
Other Central Valley races with long-serving House members have not been high on analysts’ watch lists. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, is expected to win the election in the 20th (and take the speaker’s gavel if the GOP controls the House); Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, the 21st; Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, the 5th.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Josh Harder leads Tom Patti in close race for Stockton, California congressional district."
