Rep. Jim Costa’s (D-Calif.) lead over farmer Johnny Tacherra (R) expanded to 700 votes in the latest count, as California continues its slow vote counting, giving the incumbent congressman his first real lead of the race.
{mosads}Costa had led Tacherra by 75 votes after the last count, which was his first lead since election night in a race he was originally expected to win easily.
Fresno County officials will give a new update on Wednesday, though the number of outstanding votes in Fresno and other counties in the district is dwindling, giving Costa’s hopes a boost, according to The Fresno Bee.
In California’s other uncalled House race, Rep. Ami Bera’s (D-Calif.) narrow lead over former Rep. Doug Ose (R-Calif.) remains virtually unchanged at 697 votes. Roughly 11,000 votes remain to be counted in Sacramento County, though not all are in the congressional district, and the next update will come Tuesday, according to The Sacramento Bee.
If Costa and Bera hold on, Democrats will continue their post-election hot streak — they’ve won all 11 races that were too close to call on election night, keeping a bad election cycle from turning into a GOP blowout. Former Air Force pilot Martha McSally (R) holds a 161-vote edge over Rep. Ron Barber (D-Ariz.) in the final outstanding House race, which is heading to a state-mandated recount.