Democrat Adam Gray Expands Knife-Edge Lead in Last Uncalled House Race

Democrat Adam Gray has expanded his wafer-thin lead to 190 votes as counting continues in the battle for California’s 13th Congressional District, the only House race yet to be called by The Associated Press (AP).

According to AP, as of around 2 a.m. ET on November 28, Gray had 104,991 votes against 104,801 for GOP incumbent Representative John Duarte, with an estimated 99 percent of the votes having been counted.

The Republicans held the House on November 5 with 220 confirmed representatives, just over the 218 needed for a majority, against 214 for the Democrats. They also flipped the Senate, where 53 Republicans were elected against 47 who caucus with the Democrats, and presidential candidate Donald Trump was returned to the White House for a second term.

Gray’s lead has increased slightly from November 27, when his lead was 182 votes with 104,503 ballots cast in his favor against 104,321 for Duarte.

According to California Globe, Duarte led Gray by 56,785 votes to 53,596, or 51.4 percent against 48.6 percent, after around half the votes had been counted leading some analysts to call the race in the Republican’s favor. However as more votes were cast this lead evaporated, and on Wednesday Gray pulled ahead due to mail-in votes.

Newsweek contacted Rep. John Duarte and Adam Gray for comment, via online campaign inquiry form and email respectively, on Saturday outside of regular office hours.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has filed a lawsuit against the state of California in a bid to stop the counting of mail-in ballots after Election Day.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, RNC Chair Michael Whatley wrote: “It is absurd for California to accept ballots by mail up to 7 days after Election Day and take almost a month to count them.

“The RNC, alongside the California Republican Party, will continue to fight aggressively to force all states to stop accepting ballots after Election Day.”

Speaking to California Globe, Anne Granger, a political scientist who monitors western states’ House races, said mail-in ballots could be decisive in California’s 13th congressional district.

She said: “The GOP is doing everything they can to get cured vote signatures right now, but the mail-in ballot are what turned things around here last minute.

“If there was no acceptance of mail-in ballots up to a week after, Duarte would have won and Steel probably would have won too. The RNC is really going to go after California on his.”

In 2022, Duarte defeated Gray by 564 votes to flip California’s 13th congressional district.

California’s 13th congressional district was one of 29 Republican-controlled districts identified as under threat for the GOP in October by the Cook Political Report, a group that provides nonpartisan election analysis.