By MICHAEL R. BLOOD | Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Democrat Adam Gray captured California’s 13th Congressional District on Tuesday, unseating Republican Rep. John Duarte in the final U.S. House contest to be decided this year.
Gray’s win in the farm belt seat that cuts through five counties means Republicans won 220 House seats this election cycle, with Democrats holding 215 seats.
Gray won by a margin of 187 votes, with election officials reporting Tuesday all ballots — more than 210,000 — had been counted.
Duarte captured the seat in 2022 when he defeated Gray by one of the closest margins in the country, 564 votes. He was often listed among the most vulnerable House Republicans given that narrow margin of victory in a district with a Democratic tilt — about 11 points over registered Republicans.
Gray said in a statement: “We always knew that this race would be as close as they come, and we’re expecting a photo finish this year, too.”
Duarte told the Turlock Journal he had called Gray to concede, adding, “That’s how it goes.”
“I’m a citizen legislator, and I didn’t plan on being in Congress forever,” Duarte told the newspaper, though he didn’t rule out a possible future campaign.