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On Tuesday, Merced Democrat Adam Gray defeated Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. John Duarte in a photo-finish race in California’s Central Valley, giving Democrats the final seat in the 2024 election cycle.
California’s 13th Congressional District is the final race for the U.S. House of Representatives, and the closest in the nation. When Duarte conceded Tuesday night, Gray held a 187-vote lead.
Gray trailed for the first three weeks of voting, but took the lead on Nov. 26 as mail-in votes tilted in his favor.
In a prepared statement Tuesday, Gray, 47, said he was honored to be elected and thanked the volunteers, voters, donors, campaign staff and family who helped him win.
“This district is ready for independent and responsible leadership that will always put Valley residents above partisan politics,” Gray said.
Gray said he would work to build bipartisan relationships and provide “clean water, better educational opportunities, stronger infrastructure and better-paying jobs.”
Mr. Duarte conceded Tuesday night, according to a campaign spokesperson.
“That’s what it is,” Duarte told the Turlock Journal on Tuesday. “I am a citizen councilor, but I never intended to be in council forever. However, whenever I feel I can make a difference, I take up various forms of public service, including running for council. I will consider it.”
Republicans will maintain a majority in the House next year. With Gray’s victory, Republicans will hold 220 seats, just shy of the 218 needed to control the chamber, and Democrats will hold 215 seats.
The Republican majority is expected to narrow further in parts of January. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) resigned from the House last month. Florida Rep. Michael Walz has been selected to be President-elect Donald Trump’s national security adviser, and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik is expected to step down as well if she is confirmed as U.N. ambassador. are.
The 13th Congressional District is one of six seats considered critical to the fight for control of Congress in California, and one of three seats in the state where Democrats flipped from Republican control. It was two.
In Orange County, Democrat Derek Tran ousted Republican Rep. Michelle Steele, and in northern Los Angeles County, Democrat George Whiteside defeated Republican Rep. Mike Garcia. Democrats also secured the seat vacated by Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine), and state Sen. Dave Minn defeated Republican Scott Baugh.
In another battleground district in the Central Valley, Republicans fared well, with U.S. Rep. David Valadao defeating Democrat Rudy Salas by nearly seven points. Salas filed Tuesday to run for Congress again in 2026.
Republicans also held the seat in Riverside County, where voters reelected longtime Republican Rep. Ken Calvert over Democrat Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor.
The 13th Congressional District is a rural area stretching from Coalinga to Modesto and includes Merced County and portions of Fresno, Madera, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.
The district looks blue on paper, with 42% of registered voters affiliated with the Democratic Party, while 29% register as Republicans and 22% register with no party affiliation.
But the Central Valley is more purple than the deep blue districts surrounding the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and the region’s conservative Democrats often elect Republicans across party lines.
The 2024 election was a rematch of the 2022 election, and Mr. Duarte defeated Gray by 564 votes, the second-closest margin in the country.
This year, Mr. Duarte called for lower gas prices and the cost of living. Mr. Duarte, whose family owns a large farm in the San Joaquin Valley, said he opposes the party on abortion and immigration and instead sticks to centrist policy proposals, identifying himself as a moderate Republican. I pitched it to.
Gray described himself as a “radical centrist” and pointed to his 10 years in the state Legislature as evidence of his ability to work across party lines. In August, he told the Times that he chose to run against Duarte again because he believed the incumbent and Republicans had done little to help ordinary Americans in Congress.
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