Orange County election officials released figures Friday evening showing that state Sen. Dave Min leads Republican Scott Baugh by 1,078 votes in Southern California’s tightest congressional race.
Min, D-Irvine, trailed by 616 votes after the previous day’s vote count. He is currently leading 50.19% to 49.81%.
Baugh, a former assemblyman, led the 47th Congressional District race by 1,133 votes as of Wednesday. Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine, resigned to run for the United States Senate, but her campaign was unsuccessful. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, defeated former Major League Baseball player Steve Garvey to succeed the late Senator Diane Feinstein.
“With the remaining votes expected to trend our way, we’re optimistic about our chances to keep #CA47 blue,” Min wrote in a message to X.
Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, saw his lead in the 27th Congressional District race shrink from 3,240 votes on Thursday to 973 on Friday, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. The incumbent leads George Whitesides, a Democrat and former NASA chief of staff, 50.19% to 49.81%.
Early returns on Wednesday showed Garcia with a 4,767-vote lead in the northern LA County district.
“Every vote cast by the people of our district must be thoroughly and accurately counted,” Garcia said in a statement. “While we wait for the final results, variations in daily vote totals are to be expected as the process continues.
“I am confident that when all votes are in, our message of economic security, safe neighborhoods, and protecting critical programs like Social Security and Medicare will have resonated with CA-27 families.”
In an X post, Whitesides stated that he received “over 57% of new votes counted” on Friday, with “thousands more to come.”
In the 49th District, Rep. Mike Levin, D-Dana Point, increased his lead over Republican Matt Gunderson from 6,368 votes Thursday to 9,748 votes Friday, or 51.5% to 48.4%.
Gunderson leads in Orange County, but Levin has more votes in San Diego County.
Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, leads Democrat Will Rollins by 7,380 votes in his bid for a 17th term representing Riverside County’s 41st Congressional District (51.42%-48.5%).
Calvert led by 7,455 votes, or 51.5 to 48.5%, heading into Friday’s vote count.
In the 45th Congressional District, Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Huntington Beach, lost her lead over Democratic challenger Derek Tran by 7,590 votes, or 51.5% to 48.5%. Steel had a lead of 11,668 votes, or 51.9% to 48.1%, heading into the Friday count.
The number of ballots left to be counted was unclear.
