The race in California’s 45th Congressional District has just gone through a massive shift as newly late-counted ballots are now showing incumbent Congresswoman Michelle Steel, a Republican, closing the gap with her Democratic Party challenger Derek Tran. And that’s not the only good news the GOP is getting at the moment. A close-contest going down in California’s 13th District, which still hasn’t been called, shows that Republicans have reason to be optimistic. Guys, California is slowly but surely going red. Do you realize how monumental this is?
I don’t think California has been red since 1988. If Republicans can manage to do good work during the incoming Trump administration, there’s a good chance we could take The Golden State. And that means we can do some serious work in reverting culture back to upholding conservative principles since we will have more influence over the entertainment industry, empowering those closeted conservatives within Hollywood to boldly proclaim their beliefs.
Here’s more on this from Trending Politics News:
Steel, who had led the race for most of the ballot-counting period, briefly lost her lead to Tran following late mail-in ballot drops. However, election analysts suggest that the remaining votes — particularly conditional voter registrations (CVRs) and certain provisional ballots — are likely to favor Steel. “CVRs (Conditional voter registrations) are California’s version of same-day registrations,” election analyst Michael Pruser noted on social media. “Because they must be done in person before or on election day, they’re more Republican than mail or drop box ballots.”
Two California house races remain uncalled, and it will be a minute before we know who wins.
🔴CA-13: Lean John Duarte
⚫CA-45: Toss UpThere has been no change from last week's assessment, but both races have shifted ever so slightly toward Republicans.
John Duarte (CA-13)… pic.twitter.com/hyJyOkgmvl
— Michael Pruser (@MichaelPruser) November 19, 2024
The latest tallies put Tran ahead by a razor-thin margin of 102 votes, with roughly 10,000 ballots left to count in Orange County — the heart of the battleground district. Orange County is expected to release another small batch of results tonight, which could give a clearer picture of Steel’s chances. While Steel remains locked in this tight contest, the district’s dynamics — and the composition of outstanding ballots — appear to be trending in her favor. About 56% of remaining ballots in the district are CVRs and provisionals, which could provide Steel the critical net gain she needs to reclaim the lead according to Pruser.
Let’s zoom out of the 45th District and zoom back in on the 13th and see what’s going down in that district. John Duarte, the GOP incumbent, is holding on to a lead so narrow it’s just his fingertips on the ledge over his Democratic challenger Adam Gray. The lead? A slender 2,000 votes. And there are still 28,000 votes left to be counted in the race. Most of those ballots are from Stanislaus and Merced counties.
“It’s exciting and we’ll let every vote get counted,” Duarte told KCRA 3 in an interview on Monday. He was optimistic about the shift in voter sentiment in his district, noting that President-elect Donald Trump managed to turn Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties from Democratic to Republican.
“Hopefully we’ll pull through again,” he went on to say. On the same day, Gray also spoke to KCRA 3. “I think people are looking for change,” he said. “We ran a campaign to present a change candidate, not more of the same nonsense that’s been going on and I remain hopeful we’re going to come out victorious.”
Both men involved in the race have already battened down the hatches and are expecting a rather long, drawn out process, as they went through a similar situation back in 2022. The two were only separated by 564 votes and both ended up attending new member orientation in our nation’s capital.
“This comes as Republicans look to expand their slim majority in the House; holding these contested California districts is seen as essential for maintaining momentum heading into 2025. Currently, the GOP controls 218 seats in comparison to the 212 held by Democrats. In California, the delegation currently includes 41 Democrats and 9 Republicans,” the report closed out.