Calif. Dems prevail in House races

Two California House Democrats have survived close calls over two weeks after Election Day. 

Late Wednesday, Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) was named the winner over dairy farmer Johnny Tacherra (R) by the Associated Press, and is expected to retain his seat in California’s 16th District. Costa had pulled ahead by about 1,300 votes out of more than 90,000 ballots were cast.

The AP also declared victory for freshman Rep. Ami Bera (D), who won a second term over former Rep. Doug Ose (R). With updated vote totals on Wednesday, Bera led Ose by 1,432 vote out of more than 190,000. 

Costa, a centrist Blue Dog Democrat, survived a closer-than-expected scare. Political watchers were shocked that the unknown, under-funded Tacherra nearly took him out on Election Day. 

Bera, however, was a longtime GOP target in his swing district. Ose, a former member who served from 1999-2005, had an early lead on Election Day but outstanding ballots helped swing the race back to the incumbent. 

With the two California decisions, Democrats have won 13 races that were too close to call on election night. However, Republicans will still have their largest House majority in nearly eighty years, picking up at least 12 seats in this month’s contests. 

The only outstanding House race is in Arizona’s 2nd District, where Republican Martha McSally leads Rep. Ron Barber (D) by 161 votes. The race is headed to a state-mandated recount next month. 

This post was updated at 7:55 p.m.