This weekend in the Antelope Valley and Orange County, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will be volunteering and fundraising for Democratic House candidates George Whiteside and Derek Tran. mobilizing members.

And on Sunday in Riverside County, House Majority Leader Mike Johnson appeared at an event with incumbent Rep. Ken Calvert, looking to boost Republican enthusiasm in one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country.

With just over three weeks left until the Nov. 5 election, leaders of both parties who campaigned in Southern California over the same weekend are emphasizing the state’s importance in the race for control of the House.

Democrats need to win four seats nationwide to regain the House majority next year. Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the House, holding 15 seats that are considered contested. Five of the races are in California, where Republican House members are fighting costly and grueling re-election battles.

“California matters more than any other state in determining who controls the House next year,” said Erin Covey, House editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

The visit follows former President Trump’s stop at a Coachella Valley polo field on Saturday, giving a speech to California Republicans who are often ignored by Republican presidential candidates because the state remains a Democratic stronghold. It’s energizing.

These races are in Orange County’s 45th Congressional District, where Derek Tran is running against U.S. Rep. Michelle Steele (R-Seal Beach). Will Rollins is running against Calvert (R-Corona) in Riverside County’s 41st District. Whiteside is running against U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Santa Clarita) in the Antelope Valley’s 27th Congressional District. And in the always-contested Central Valley, Adam Gray and Rudy Salas are running against Rep. John Duarte (R-Modesto) and Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford).

The sixth seat, District 47 in coastal Orange County, is also a hotly contested district. There is no incumbent candidate for the seat, as Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) ran for Senate after losing the primary, rather than seeking re-election to the House.

State Sen. Dave Minn is running against former Orange County Republican Party Chairman Scott Baugh in the 47th Congressional District, which Cook describes as “lean Democratic.” Bo is seeking a rematch in 2022, where he narrowly lost to Porter in a painful and costly campaign.

Covey said the reason so many seats are up for grabs in California this year is in part because Republicans outperformed expectations in California in 2022. He said Democrats running for Congress are sensing voter dissatisfaction with how state leaders, all of whom are Democrats, have handled crime and other issues.

But in a presidential election year when voter turnout is high, Democrats are expected to mount a stronger attack in these districts.

Jeffries spoke Saturday afternoon at Trang’s Rock the Vote event, which featured Vietnamese performers. The 45th Congressional District, where Little Saigon is located, has the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam, but until now there has been no Vietnamese American representation in Washington.