Nunes defeats Dem challenger in California House race

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) won reelection Tuesday, keeping one of President Trump’s most fervent allies in Congress for at least two more years.

Nunes, who has represented California’s 22nd Congressional District since 2003, defeated Democrat Andrew Janz, a county prosecutor who had narrowed the incumbent’s lead to as few as 8 percentage points, according to a poll released in September.

{mosads}The GOP lawmaker currently serves as chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee, where he came under scrutiny last year for his handling of the panel’s now-concluded investigation into Russia’s election interference. He was forced to step aside from the committee’s Russia investigation pending an ethics inquiry into allegations surrounding his handling of classified material. The House Ethics Committee shuttered its probe in December without bringing any charges.

Nunes has also been a key figure in Republican efforts to probe allegations of bias at the Justice Department and FBI regarding a counterintelligence investigation into Trump’s campaign and Russia before the 2016 election. Critics argue the bias claims are part of a broader effort by the president’s congressional allies to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

With Democrats winning the House in Tuesday’s elections, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is poised to take over the Intelligence Committee’s gavel. It is widely expected that Democrats will seek to revive the panel’s investigation into Russian interference and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.