What you need to know
House elections remain undecided in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. The Southern California election could play a role in determining the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives. Adding to the uncertainty, several California Republicans represent districts won by President Biden in 2020.
Five of the six key U.S. House races in Southern California that could shift the balance of power remain undecided nearly a week after Election Day.
Over the weekend, more votes were counted in House races in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including some with margins of 1 percentage point.
As of Monday morning, control of the U.S. House of Representatives remained in jeopardy. There are a small number of racial chambers across the country that have not yet convened.
Republicans were expected to win the Senate majority on Wednesday.
Democrats control all major statewide offices and outnumber Republicans in California by a 2-to-1 margin, but there is strong support for Republican candidates in parts of Southern California. There is. Adding to the uncertainty, several California Republicans represent districts won by President Biden in 2020, making the area a wild card player in the composition of the U.S. House of Representatives. That’s the point.
In 2024, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be up for election. As of voting day, there were 220 Republicans, 212 Democrats, and 3 vacant seats.
Scroll to see results updated Monday morning.
Democrat Whiteside leads by a narrow margin
Results early Monday showed former Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides holding a narrow lead in this area north of Los Angeles.
Rep. Mike Garcia won the seat in 2022 by 6 percentage points over Democrat Christy Smith, solidifying his advance from the March primary. Whiteside finished second in the primary, receiving 50.9% of the vote in one of the five California precincts that voted for Joe Biden in 2020, with votes counted early Monday morning. Mr. Garcia had 49.1%.
The district narrowly supported Gov. Gavin Newsom in the 2020 gubernatorial election, with Republican Brian Dahl supporting Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Garcia, who served in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Naval Reserve, was first elected in a special election in 2020. The special election was called after Democrat Katie Hill, who defeated the Republican in 2018, resigned amid a sex scandal. Smith was re-elected in the 2022 election, 53.2 percent to 46.8 percent.
Whitesides served as NASA chief of staff in the Obama administration.
The northern Los Angeles County area includes Santa Clarita, Lancaster, Palmdale, and other high desert areas.
Republican Rep. Young Kim defends his House seat
Republican Rep. Yong Kim won the district by 14 points two years ago and is returning for a third term. NBC News predicted last week that Kim would win the race against former fire chief and union president Joe Carr.
Kim is one of three Korean-American women first elected to Congress in 2020, and served two years in the California State Assembly. Carr unsuccessfully ran for a state Senate seat in 2022 and for the Orange County Board of Supervisors in 2018.
As of Monday, Mr. Kim had received 55.9% of the vote and Mr. Kerr had 44.1%.
The district includes parts of Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties. The 40th District includes the communities of Aliso Viejo, Corona, Chino Hills, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Tustin and Villa Park.
In 2020, President Biden narrowly won the district.
In 2020, President Biden narrowly won the district. As of September, registered Republicans outnumbered Democrats in the district by 38% to 34%.
Republican Rep. Calvert widens his lead by a narrow margin
Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert held a nearly 3 percentage point lead in the Riverside County House District race early Monday morning.
The race will be a rematch against longtime Congressman Will Rollins, a Democrat. In the 2022 election, the difference between the two was less than 5 points.
Calvert is the longest-serving Republican in California’s congressional delegation, having held the seat east of Los Angeles since 1993. Rollins, a former federal prosecutor, will have another chance to unseat the incumbent in November.
Note: Palm Springs has been added to this district since the last election.
The district also includes Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Rancho Mirage, most of Corona, and Palm Desert.
Republican Rep. Steele leads in close race for 45th Congressional District
Early Monday morning, Republican Rep. Michelle Steele was leading Democrat Derek Tran 51.1% to 48.9% in Orange County’s 45th Congressional District.
Steele easily emerged from the primary race against four Democrats, including veteran civil rights attorney Derek Tran, who came in second in the primary. In a crowded primary, Mr. Tran received just 16% of the vote, compared to Mr. Steele’s 55 votes.
The district supported Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, but voted for Republican John Cox over Gavin Newsom in the 2018 gubernatorial election. Although there are more registered Democrats than Republicans, Steele defeated the Democrats in 2020 and won re-election in 2022.
The 45th District, which Steele was re-elected to in 2022 with 52.4% of the vote, includes parts of Orange County and Los Angeles County. The district includes Garden Grove, Westminster, Buena Park, and Artesia. Brea, Lakewood, Fullerton, and parts of Yorba Linda are in the C-shaped district surrounding Anaheim.
Democratic Party member Min leads by a narrow margin in the 47th House of Representatives district.
This once solidly Republican district, which stretches from coastal Orange County in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach to inland Irvine, is the only open House seat in California’s most competitive districts. The seat was vacated by Katie Porter, who was running for the U.S. Senate, but she did not advance after the March primary and is not seeking re-election.
Scott Baugh, who lost to Porter by less than 4 points in 2022, and Democratic state Sen. Dave Minn are in a close race, with Minn holding a 1 percentage point lead early Monday. There is.
Bo won the primary with 32% of the vote. Min came in second place with just under 26%, with the remaining votes split among other candidates.
The district was represented by the Republican Party from its creation until Porter defeated the then-Republican representative. Mimi Walters in 2018.
Democratic Rep. Levin takes the lead in defending 49th District Council seat
Democratic Rep. Mike Levin held on to hold his seat in this Southern California district, which includes parts of Orange and San Diego counties, with 51.7 percent of the vote. Republican Matt Gunderson, a car dealership owner who ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in 2022, got 48.3%.
Voters chose Levin in 2018 to replace longtime Republican Darrell Issa, who has since returned to Congress in a neighboring district. Since then, Levin has been reelected twice, in 2020 by six points and in 2022 by five points.
Cities within this district include Oceanside, Carlsbad, and Encinitas, as well as southern Orange County communities such as San Clemente, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel, and Ladera Ranch.
