What to Know
- Competitive House race were on the ballot in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
- The closest uncalled House race in California Wednesday morning was a District 45 contest between Republican Rep. Michelle Steel and Democrat Derek Tran.
- Republican Scott Baugh conceded to Sen. Dave Min in Orange County's 47th Congressional District Tuesday.
- Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Levin was successful in his bid to defend his seat in the 49th House District.
Republican Rep. Michelle Steel held a slim lead Wednesday over Democrat Derek Tran in California's closest election race for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
More than a week after Election Day, the 45th Congressional District contest was one of a handful of House Southern California House races that have not been called.
District 45, which re-elected Steel with 52.4% of the vote in 2022, includes parts of Orange and Los Angeles counties. The district includes Garden Grove, Westminster, Buena Park and Artesia. Parts of Brea, Lakewood, Fullerton and Yorba Linda are in the district that's shaped like a C and wraps around Anaheim.
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On Wednesday, NBC News projected that Republicans will keep their majority in the U.S. House. All 435 U.S. House seats were up for election in 2024. Entering Election Day, Republicans had 220 members to Democrats' 212. There were three vacancies.
As of Tuesday, about half of the undecided House races in the country are in California, which had only counted about three-quarters of its votes statewide. It's not unusual or unexpected for the nation's most populous state to take a while.
Scroll to see results updated Monday morning.
Democrat Whitesides unseats incumbent Rep. Garcia
George Whitesides, the former CEO of Virgin Galactic, defeated Rep. Mike Garcia in close contest for district north of Los Angeles.
NBC News projected Whitesides as the winner Monday evening. Garcia conceded Monday and congratulated political newcomer.
Rep. Garcia won the seat in 2022 by 6 percentage points over Democrat Christy Smith and held on to advance from the March primary. Whitesides finished second in the primary and had 50.9-percent of the votes counted early Monday in one of five California districts that voted for Joe Biden in 2020. Garcia stood at 49.1 percent.
It's a district that favored Republican Brian Dahle by a slight margin over Gov. Gavin Newsom in the 2020 gubernatorial election.
Garcia, who served in the U.S. navy and U.S. Navy Reserve, was first elected in a special election in 2020. The special election was called after Democrat Katie Hill, who defeated a Republican in 2018, resigned due to a sex scandal. He won re-election over Smith in 2022, 53.2 percent to 46.8 percent.
Whitesides served as NASA chief of staff in the Obama Administration.
The district in northern Los Angeles County includes Santa Clarita, Lancaster, Palmdale and other high desert communities.
Republican Rep. Young Kim defends House seat
GOP Rep. Young Kim will returns for a third term after winning the district two years ago by 14 percentage points. NBC News projected Kim as the winner in her race against former fire captain and union president Joe Kerr last week.
Kim is one of three Korean American women who were the first elected to Congress in 2020, served the California Assembly for two years. Kerr was unsuccessful in his 2022 bid for a state Senate seat and the Orange County Board of Supervisors in 2018.
As of Monday, Kim had 55.9 percent of the vote to Kerr's 44.1 percent.
The district includes parts of Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties The communities of Aliso Viejo, Corona, Chino Hills, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Tustin and Villa Park in the 40th District.
President Biden won the district by a slim margin in 2020.
President Biden won the district by a slim margin in 2020. Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats in the district by a margin of 38 percent to 34 percent, as of September.
Rep. Calvert projected to win Riverside County House seat
Republican Rep. Ken Calvert will prevail in the race for the Riverside County Congressional district, NBC News projected Wednesday.
The race was a rematch between the long-time representative and Democrat Will Rollins. The two were separated by less than 5 percentage points in the 2022 election.
Calvert is the longest-serving Republican in the California congressional delegation, having held his seat in this district east of Los Angeles since 1993. Rollins, a former federal prosecutor, gets another chance to unseat the incumbent in November.
Palm Springs has been added to this district since the last election. The district also includes Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Rancho Mirage, most of Corona and Palm Desert.
GOP Rep. Steel leads in tight race for 45th House district
Republican Rep. Steel was leading Democrat Tran -- 51.1 percent to 48.9 percent -- early Monday in Orange County's 45th Congressional District, but that lead dwindled to 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent early Wednesday.
Steel easily advanced from the primary in her race against four Democrats, including second-place primary finisher Tran, a veteran and civil rights attorney. Tran had only 16 percent of the vote to Steel's commanding 55 in the crowded primary.
This district supported Joe Biden for president in 2020, but voted for Republican John Cox over Gavin Newsom in the 2018 gubernatorial election. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans, but Steel defeated a Democrat in 2020 before winning re-election in 2022.
Democrat Min projected to win House District 47
Republican Scott Baugh conceded to Sen. Dave Min in Orange County's 47th Congressional District Tuesday. Min's lead was at 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent early Wednesday.
"It has become clear that despite running a strong campaign, connecting with voters, and mobilizing an incredible volunteer effort -- that effort is going to come up a little short," Baugh said. "I am grateful to an outstanding campaign team and the most dedicated supporters any candidate could ask for. I'm appreciative of the voters that supported me and even those that did not, and most of all I am grateful for my wife, Wendy and my son, Jackson."
In a social media post, Min said, "I know many of us are anxious about the future of our country, but we cannot give up on America. In Congress, I will fight to protect our democracy, safeguard our freedoms and expand economic opportunity."
This once solidly Republican district that stretches from Huntington and Newport beaches on the Orange County coast and inland to Irvine was the only open House seat among California's most competitive races. The seat was vacated by Katie Porter, who was running for Senate, but did not advance from the March primary and is not seeking re-election.
Baugh won the primary with 32 percent of the vote. Min was second at just under 26 percent with the remaining votes divided among other candidates.
The district had been represented by Republicans from the time it was created until Porter defeated then-Rep. Mimi Walters in 2018.
Democrat Rep. Levin projected to defend 49th District House seat
Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Levin was successful in his bid to defend his seat in this Southern California district that includes portions of Orange and San Diego counties, NBC News projected.
Voters chose Levin in 2018 to replace longtime Republican Darrell Issa, who has since returned to Congress in a neighboring district. Levin has since been re-elected twice — by six points in 2020 and 5 points in 2022.
Cities in the district include Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas and the southern Orange County communities of San Clemente, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel and Ladera Ranch.
