After one month of vote counting, Democratic challenger Adam Gray has been declared the winner in the race for California’s 13th Congressional District (California’s Central Valley), according to the Associated Press. He flipped the seat of Republican Rep. John Duarte, by 187 votes out of the more than 210,000 ballots cast.
This was the final House race to be called and it leaves Republicans ahead of Democrats by a paper-thin margin of 220 to 215. And until Republicans can fill the seats of the three representatives tapped by President-elect Donald Trump for positions in his incoming administration, Reps. Elise Stefanik, Michael Waltz and Matt Gaetz, the party will be left with only a two-seat advantage. (Gaetz, as we know, has since withdrawn his name from consideration. But he will not be returning to the House.)
Fox News reported that Gray served as a state legislator from 2012 to 2022 and he “is considered a centrist Democrat who focused on key concerns for farmers in the Central Valley like water shortages. He also campaigned on renewable energy solutions. … Duarte, a businessman and farmer, focused on issues like inflation, crime and agricultural issues during his campaign.”
This was a rematch for the two men. In 2022, Duarte narrowly defeated Gray by 564 votes.
The race was called just two days before the deadline for counties in California to certify their results.
On election night, Duarte was ahead of Gray by more than 3,000 votes, but as The New York Times describes it: “Mr. Gray steadily chipped away at that lead in subsequent updates until he went ahead for the first time on Tuesday.” At the risk of being seen as a sore loser, it almost looks like the Democrats stopped counting when they finally got a result they liked.
The Times excused the state for taking four weeks to call this race. The article said, “California notably takes longer to tabulate votes because elections officials are flooded with mail-in ballots that must be inspected and verified. The state gives county offices weeks to complete their tallies and reach out to voters whose ballots may lack a proper signature.”
The Times noted, “Democrats had eyed the seat as among the most promising potential pickups, and they helped Mr. Gray rake in millions of dollars to unseat Mr. Duarte. About 41 percent of voters in the district are registered Democrats and 29 percent are Republicans.
“Mr. Gray had raised $5.4 million and Mr. Duarte $4.1 million, according to campaign finance filings through Oct. 16. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also spent $1.7 million on the race, records showed,” according to the Times.
After the race was called on Tuesday night, Gray posted a statement on X. He wrote: “The final results confirm this district is ready for independent and accountable leadership that always puts the Valley’s people ahead of partisan politics.”
Considering the tightness of the race and the length of time it took to call, Gray’s remark seems like a non sequitur.
Elizabeth writes commentary for The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Editorial Board at The Sixteenth Council, a London think tank. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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