In one of the most closely watched U.S. House races in the country, the outcome of the Central Valley race between Republican U.S. Rep. John Duarte and Democratic challenger Adam Gray for California’s 13th Congressional District is as follows: The margin was too close to call on election night, and votes were scheduled to be counted by the 26th. To be continued.
This election will be the second time the two have contested this seat in Congress. After weeks of vote counting, Mr. Gray lost to Mr. Duarte by 564 votes in 2022, making it the second-closest House race in the country that year.
Once again, the hotly contested race was seen as crucial in this year’s battle for control of Congress. It was one of several seats in California that could determine whether Democrats or Republicans win the House of Representatives.
This rural area stretches from Coalinga to Modesto and includes Merced County and portions of Fresno, Madera, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus Counties. Here, 42% of registered voters are Democrats, compared to 29% who register as Republicans and 22% who register with no party affiliation.
Although Democrats have an advantage over registered Republicans, the Central Valley is home to many conservative Democrats, who often elect Republicans across party lines. Unlike the deep blue Congressional districts surrounding the Bay Area and Los Angeles, the Central Valley is often purple.
Mr. Duarte called for lower gas prices and the cost of living. He has pitched himself to voters as a moderate Republican, saying he opposes the party on abortion and immigration and instead sticks to centrist policy proposals.
Although Duarte calls himself a reproductive rights advocate, he supports the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, which made abortion a federal right, and instead favors leaving abortion policy up to each state. He said there was. He voted in favor of the following bills: threaten a health care provider He was sentenced to prison for failing to resuscitate an infant who was born alive during an attempted abortion, an extremely rare occurrence.
Gray, who served in the Legislature for 10 years, campaigned as a “radical centrist,” referring to his time in the state Legislature to demonstrate his track record of nonpartisanship. In August, he told the Times that he chose to run against Duarte again despite losing in 2022 because Duarte and the Republican Party have done little to help ordinary Americans in Congress. He said this was because he felt that he was not raising his standards.
In Congress, Mr. Gray helped create a bipartisan moderate group called the Problem Solvers Caucus. He disagreed with his party on water conservation issues and opposed Democratic-led efforts to reduce the amount of state and federal water flowing to the San Joaquin Valley Irrigation District.
