With the GOP’s eight-seat majority at stake, Golden State voters will decide 52 congressional races, 40 of which are currently held by Democrats.
Though seen by many as a deep blue state sporting a Democrat trifecta—with the governor’s office and both legislative chambers controlled by the party with supermajority margins—California has millions of Republicans and independent voters who could determine the balance of power in Congress in November.
Republicans control the House with a slim eight seat majority, thanks, in part, to some California seats flipping from blue to red in 2022.
Golden State voters will consider 52 races—with seats currently split between 40 Democrats and 12 Republicans—for the House of Representatives, including some of the nation’s most competitive districts.
Many of the tightest races are in districts in the Central Valley, Orange County, and east of Los Angeles in the Inland Empire.
Of the 10 closest districts, Republicans control seven of the seats.
District 13
Incumbent Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) will face off against Democrat Adam Gray in a rematch of the 2022 election. Duarte flipped the district red for the first time since 1974 in a win that registered as the second closest in the country at the time—with fewer than 600 votes separating the two out of more than 133,000 cast.
The predominantly Hispanic, agricultural Central Valley district encompasses Merced County and parts of Fresno, Madera, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus counties.
Voter registration is split with nearly 41 percent Democrats, about 30 percent Republicans, and almost 22 percent independent.
In the March primary, Duarte beat Gray by almost 10 percent.
A fourth-generation farmer, longtime plant nursery owner, and first-time representative, Duarte told The Epoch Times that producers, businesses, and lower-income families are “greatly impacted by inflation and the Biden administration’s anti-energy and anti-resource policies.”
He said he hears from constituents that affordability is of paramount importance.
“I’m in touch with the issues in the district and I have a lot of credibility with many people,” Duarte said. “The message is clear: Get water on the farms, drill American oil, and get the cost of living under control.”
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