Adam Gray, a former state lawmaker representing the Democratic party, defeated Republican incumbent John Duarte, flipping a seat in California's Central Valley. It was the final uncalled U.S. House race in California and means that Republicans will have an extremely slim majority in the lower chamber during the next Congress, potentially presenting some obstacles for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
The two candidates got 50% of the vote in California's 13th Congressional District, with Gray narrowly winning his bid with a little less than 200 votes. Duarte conceded the race shortly before The Associated Press called the race for Gray, according to campaign spokesman Duane Dichiara.
Duarte's defeat puts Republicans with a narrow majority in the House when the next Congress convenes, holding 220 seats over Democrats' 215.
"I'm honored to become the Congressman-elect for California's 13th Congressional District," Gray said in a statement on X. "The final results confirm this district is ready for independent and accountable leadership that always puts the Valley's people ahead of partisan politics."
Gray's victory was a reversal of the 2022 results in the Central Valley. Two years ago, Duarte won by the second-smallest margin in any House race, according to The Sacramento Bee.
Democrats had eyed the 13th District seat as one of the most promising potential pickups, with leaders helping Gray rake in millions of dollars to unseat Duarte. About 41% of voters in the district are registered Democrats and 29% are Republicans.
But even though Republicans were able to claim the 218 seats needed to control the House, the slim majority could nonetheless present all kinds of problems for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and President-elect Donald Trump as they try to quickly pass a sweeping conservative policy agenda through Congress, Axios reports.
House Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) congratulated Gray on his upset, boasting "Republicans now have no room for error because of their historically narrow margin."
Gray's victory is also added to a list of challenges being presented to House Speaker Johnson.
For one, Trump has selected Reps. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) as his national security advisor and ambassador to the United Nations, respectively. Both of their seats, along with that of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who resigned in pursuit of an ultimately failed nomination for attorney general and said he will not retake his seat in January, won't be filled until the Spring.
That leaves Johnson with a 217-215 majority for some of the key first months of Trump's term.
Republicans are reportedly working to unify the party ahead of January as they seek to pass sweeping legislation on energy, immigration and budget.
For instance, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.VA) said Johnson attended a Senate Republican meeting recently in hopes of maintaining both chambers, who will soon be controlled by the GOP, on the same page.
"I think we're pretty unified on where we want to go. It's just getting there," she said. "You know, the devil's in the details."
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