On Thursday afternoon, a month after the midterm elections, Republican Rep. David Valadao finally conceded in his race against Democrat TJ Cox.
With California’s 21st congressional district going blue, the Democrats have officially picked up 40 seats in this midterm cycle and won seven Republican-held seats in California—all of which voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
“Representing the Central Valley in Congress has been the honor of a lifetime,” Valadao said in a concession statement.
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Valadao, who represented the central California district since 2013, was initially declared the winner by the Associated Press on election night. But with mail-in ballots counted over the ensuing weeks, Valado and other California Republicans saw their leads steadily decline.
There remains only one outstanding congressional race in the country in North Carolina’s ninth district. That contentious race has yet to be certified given an investigation into credible evidence of election fraud.
Republican Mark Harris, for now, holds a slim lead over Democrat Dan McCready but it's possible that a new election gets called or Harris is not seated in the House.
