Adam Gray Takes Slight Lead Over John Duarte in California’s 13th Congressional District Race

In a closely contested race, Democrat Adam Gray has edged ahead of incumbent Republican Congressman John Duarte in California‘s 13th Congressional District. As of the latest update on November 27, Gray holds a narrow lead of 182 votes, with 104,503 votes to Duarte’s 104,321 votes, reflecting a perfect 50.0 percent to 50.0 percent split.

The race has been intense, with both parties investing heavily since Duarte’s victory in 2022 contributed to the Republicans’ slim House majority. The district spans across five Central Valley counties, including Merced, Madera, Fresno, Stanislaus, and parts of San Joaquin counties. Duarte performed strongly in Madera and Fresno counties but trailed behind in Stanislaus County, which is his home turf. Gray leads in Stanislaus County by 3,981 votes, with 53.33 percent of the vote to Duarte’s 46.67 percent.

The outcome is still uncertain as there are outstanding ballots to be counted. In Merced County, approximately 1,500 ballots require a valid cure letter to be counted, which involves resolving issues such as mismatched or unverified signatures. Melvin Levey, Merced County’s Registrar of Voters, indicated that his office is working diligently to resolve these issues and expects to release more results before the end of the week.

The California Secretary of State’s office will not update the results again until December 3, allowing time for all votes to be processed and verified. The hand tally of one percent of the votes is also underway to ensure the accuracy of the automated count.

This race is crucial as it could impact the balance of power in the House of Representatives, although the GOP has already secured control of the House and the U.S. Senate).