Democrat Adam Gray, a former five-term Assemblymember who lost a bid for Congress in 2022, has unseated incumbent Rep. John Duarte (R-Modest
The last US House race in the 2024 election has been decided, and the seat is a flip for Dems. Adam Gray has defeated incumbent Republican John Duarte in CA-13.
Democrat Adam Gray, a former five-term Assemblymember who lost a bid for Congress in 2022, has unseated incumbent Rep. John Duarte (R-Modesto) in the closest House race — and the last to be called — in the nation this election cycle. Duarte, a farmer turned politician, phoned his challenger just after 5 p.m. to concede the race. “That’s how it goes,” said Duarte, who fell 187 votes short of retaining his seat in the 13th Congressional District. “I’m a citizen legislator, and I didn’t plan on being in Congress forever. But whenever I think I can make a difference, I’ll consider public service in different forms, including running for Congress again.” Duarte defeated Gray by 564 votes two years ago in what was then the second-closest race in the nation. “The Congressman was very gracious and I appreciated the call,” said Gray. “We had a quick chat. He wanted to make sure that we don’t drop any of the work already done here in the Valley.”
At least Duarte wasn't a sore loser like Trump in 2020.
The official margin won't be published until Thursday but it probably won't be far from the current 187.
So with the victory of Adam Gray in California, this leaves Republicans with 220 House members and Democrats with 215. This represents a gain of 2 seats for Dems over the 2022 House results.
But because of the departure of Matt Gaetz,the GOP will begin the 119th Congress with just 219 seats. And with the departure of Mike Waltz (FL-06) and Elise Stefanik (NY-21) to join the Trump administration in the winter, the GOP will be down to 217 seats.
CA-13 was one of three House races to be decided by fewer than a thousand votes. 187 is below the number of students in my HS graduating class.
So keep CA-13 in mind if you know anybody who claims that their vote doesn't count.