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Democrat Derek Tran's lead over GOP's Michelle Steel grows to 102 votes in the 45th House District
Republican Rep. Michelle Steel is fighting to keep her seat from Democrat Derek Tran.
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Update, Tuesday Nov. 19: Democrat Tran widens lead to 314 votes over GOP's Steel in 45th House District race
Democratic challenger Derek Tran has extended his lead over GOP Rep. Michelle Steel in the 45th Congressional District. As of Monday night, he was ahead by 102 votes after a release of new tallies from L.A. and Orange counties.
Steel had the lead from Election Day until this weekend when it disappeared and Tran led by 36 votes. The district crosses county lines.
Race is one of 5 still being decided
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About the district
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Courtesy CalMatters
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Why it matters
Both political parties have been vying for the control of this swing district that sits mostly in northern Orange County. More than $46 million has been poured into the race, making it the most expensive House contest in the country.
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It's also one of the last races to be called, although the GOP already has secured control of the House.
How the count has been trending
Tran took a 102 vote lead over Steel after Monday's vote tallies from L.A. and Orange counties with more than 307,000 votes — or 94% — of expected votes counted.
Tran took the slimmest of leads (36-point margin) over the weekend.
Steel, a two-term incumbent, took the early lead in vote tallies after Election Day, but Tran began to cut into her lead.
The gap between the two candidates had dropped from 0.08% last Thursday to 0.02% Friday night.
Could there be a recount?
- How recounts work: Unlike other states, California doesn’t have an automatic recount threshold. State election law allows any voter to requesta recount for any contest as long as they pay for it. For most races, this has to be done within five days after the election is officially certified (that’s by Dec. 5). For statewide or cross-county elections, that request can only be done within five days after Dec. 6. California law also allows the governor to order a state-funded recount for any statewide office or ballot measure if the difference is less than 1,000 votes.
We'll have more on this developing story. LAist reporter Cato Hernández contributed to the "Could there be a recount?" section of the article from the "Make it make sense" newsletter.
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