Election 2022: Control of the House of Representatives could come to California, but the road is narrowing for Democrats
SAN FRANCISCO– With the race for control of the House of Representatives Now down to the wire all eyes are on California.
Nearly four million ballots were cast statewide midterm election still have to be counted. These votes are crucial in house races that are still too close.
“Nationally, I think everyone is waiting on a knife edge for those final congressional districts to be decided,” pollster Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data Inc., told ABC7 News. “There are probably five seats that election observers are scrutinizing across the country to see whether or not something can happen in California that will help Democrats keep the majority in the House.”
On Monday night, ABC reports that Democrats won 207 House seats and Republicans won 215 — just a few seats short of the 218 needed to gain control of the House.
The outcome of a handful of California home races could determine which party gets the majority.
Mitchell says the races he’s watching most closely to see if Democrats can turn around include California’s Central Valley District 22 between Republican incumbent David Valadao and Democrat Rudy Salas; District 27 in northern Los Angeles County between Republican incumbent Mike Garcia and Democrat Christy Smith; and District 41 in Riverside County between Republican incumbent Ken Calvert and Democrat Will Rollins.
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For the first time, that district now includes left-leaning Palm Springs, which has made it harder for Calvert — who fought gay marriage in California — to keep his seat.
“Even though this race has gotten tougher, it’s still a race that’s within a couple of percentage points,” Mitchell said. “And the district has said that there are still about 100,000 ballots to be counted.”
In all of those races, Republicans are currently leading, and Mitchell says recent ballots show the path for Democrats to overcome those leads is getting narrower.
“It seems likely to have closed the door for Democrats to retake the House,” he said.
Ultimately, Mitchell predicts the Democrats won’t win any new seats — but they won’t lose any either.
“Keeping all the seats in California is something of a Democrat victory,” he said. “Even if Republicans hold the House as it stands right now, it’s going to be the difference of maybe having a three-seat majority or a four-seat or five-seat majority, which is going to be a very big problem for Kevin McCarthy. “
If the Republicans control the House of Representatives, it’s California Congressman Kevin McCarthy who is once again poised to become Speaker of the House.
In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, current Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she has no plans to leave Congress but declined to say if she would seek a leadership position should Democrats seek a win
“Right now I’ve said I won’t be commenting until this election is done,” Pelosi said, “and we still have some time to go.”
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https://abc7.com/control-of-house-representatives-california-election-democrats-republicans/12454155/ Election 2022: Control of the House of Representatives could come to California, but the road is narrowing for Democrats
