Derek Tran took a slight edge over Rep. Michelle Steel in California’s 45th congressional district on Saturday, Nov. 16, nearly two weeks after Election Day.
Saturday’s count showed Tran leading by 36 votes.
The Orange Democrat’s vote percentage has gradually increased as more ballots have been counted in recent days, eroding Steel’s initial lead of approximately 11,000 votes. On Friday evening, Steel led by only 58 votes.
Of the votes tallied Saturday, Tran, an attorney, clinched around 54% of the results from Orange County. He has received 49.24% of the OC votes counted to date.
The Los Angeles County registrar did not update results over the weekend — the last tally there was released at 5 p.m. on Friday — but Tran is leading there with 56.26% of the vote.
The Southern California race is currently the closest of the few remaining House races in the state yet to be called.
And it was one of the more volatile ones this election cycle, with both candidates trading barbs over their past jobs — Steel’s campaign permeated the airwaves with ads decrying his work as an attorney defending clients accused of sexual assault; Tran’s camp questioned Steel’s ethics as a county supervisor following an LAist report that dropped just ahead of the election about a pandemic meals contract.
Going into the election, the race for California’s 45th congressional district was considered by election forecasters to be a toss-up.
The district, which spans Orange and Los Angeles counties, is a majority-minority district. It includes Little Saigon where the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam resides. And in Los Angeles County, the district includes Cerritos and Artesia, both where Asian residents make up the largest racial group.
Ahead of Election Day, Democrats outnumbered Republicans in the district in terms of registered voters. Democrats accounted for 37.07% of registered voters while 33.05% were Republicans and 24.22% no party preference.
Steel, a Seal Beach Republican seeking a third term, has shown GOP resilience in the Democratic-leaning district in past elections. In 2022, President Joe Biden took the district while she won reelection.
If next week’s ballot counts don’t result in a decisive winner, a recount may be on the horizon. While California law does not mandate automatic recounts, both candidates have been seeking donations to fund one if that does happen.
The secretary of state will certify election results on Dec. 13.
