Republican’s lead shrinks in California

Former Rep. Doug Ose’s (R-Calif.) Election Day lead has shrunk to 530 votes in his race against Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.).

{mosads}Ose had led by more than 3,000 votes on election night and 2,000 votes on Thursday. More than 30,000 ballots remain to be counted, with another update expected Wednesday evening.

The Ose-Bera contest is one of a number of close California House races that has yet to be called.

“Doug Ose still maintains his lead in the race for California’s 7th Congressional District. This has been a close race from the beginning, and we have full faith in the Sacramento County Registrar to ensure that every legal vote is accounted for,” Ose’s campaign said in a statement.

Reps. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) are also in nail-biters, with Costa trailing farmer John Tacherra (R) by 781 votes with thousands left to be counted and Brownley leading former state Assemblyman Jeff Gorrell (R) by 1,000 votes with more ballots to be counted.

Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) held off former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio (R) by a narrow margin; DeMaio conceded on Sunday.

Republicans have gained 12 seats so far in the 2014 midterm elections with a handful of races still too close to call. The GOP has a total of 244 seats in the House compared to 184 for Democrats.