Democrats claimed the final congressional seat in the 2024 election cycle on Tuesday as Merced Democrat Adam Gray ousted Republican incumbent Rep. John Duarte in a photo-finish race in California's Central Valley.
California's 13th Congressional District was the last outstanding race for the U.S. House of Representatives and had the largest margin in the country. Gray was ahead by 187 votes when Duarte conceded Tuesday evening.
After trailing in the first three weeks of vote counting, Gray took the lead on November 26, when the ballots tilted in his favor.
Gray, 47, said in a prepared statement Tuesday that he was honored to be chosen and thanked the volunteers, voters, donors, campaign staff and family members who helped him win.
“This district is ready for independent and responsible leadership that always puts the people of the Valley before party politics,” Gray said.
Gray said he would work to build bipartisan relationships and deliver “clean water, better educational opportunities, stronger infrastructure and more good-paying jobs.”
Duarte conceded Tuesday evening, a campaign spokesman said.
“That's how it goes,” Duarte told the Turlock Journal on Tuesday. “I am a citizen legislator and it was not my intention to stay in Congress forever. But whenever I think I can make a difference, I will consider public service in various forms, including running for Congress again.”
The Republicans will retain a narrow majority in the House of Representatives next year. With Gray's victory, Republicans will retain 220 seats — barely above the 218-seat threshold needed to control the chamber — and Democrats 215.
The Republican Party will have an even smaller majority for parts of January. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) resigned from the House of Representatives last month. Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida has been named President-elect Donald Trump's national security adviser and is expected to resign, as will Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York if she is confirmed as United Nations ambassador.
The 13th Congressional District was one of six California seats considered crucial in the battle for control of Congress, and was one of three in the state that Democrats wrested from Republican control.
In Orange County, Democrat Derek Tran ousted Republican Rep. Michelle Steel, and in northern Los Angeles County, Democrat George Whitesides defeated Republican Rep. Mike Garcia. Democrats also retained a seat vacated by Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine), with Sen. Dave Min defeating Republican Scott Baugh.
Republicans fared better in the Central Valley's other swing district, where Rep. David Valadao defeated Democrat Rudy Salas by nearly seven points. Salas filed on Tuesday to run for Congress again in 2026.
The GOP also held a seat in Riverside County, where voters re-elected longtime Republican Rep. Ken Calvert over Democrat Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor.
Read more: In a 'purple' district in California, a Republican congressman is fighting to defend a seat he won by 564 votes
The rural 13th Congressional District stretches from Coalinga to Modesto and includes Merced County and parts of Fresno, Madera, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.
The district appears blue on paper: 42% of registered voters are affiliated with the Democratic Party, compared to 29% registered as Republicans and 22% registered with no party preference.
But the Central Valley is purpler than the deep blue districts around the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and conservative Democrats in the area often cross party lines to elect Republicans.
The 2024 campaign was a rematch of 2022, when Duarte defeated Gray by 564 votes, the second-largest margin in the country.
This year, Duarte campaigned on lowering gas prices and the cost of living. Duarte, whose family owns a large ranch in the San Joaquin Valley, cast himself as a moderate Republican to voters, saying he had criticized his party on abortion and immigration issues and instead stuck to mediocre policy proposals.
Gray cast himself as a “radical centrist,” pointing to his decade in the State Assembly as evidence he could work across party lines. In August, he told The Times that he chose to run against Duarte again because he believed the incumbent president and Republicans in Congress had accomplished little to help ordinary Americans.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
