California House race flips to narrow lead for Dem amid weekslong vote count

Votes are still being counted in California two weeks after the election, and a Democratic challenger in a key U.S. House race has just taken the lead against the Republican incumbent.

With 94% of the votes counted, Democrat Derek Tran now leads GOP Rep. Michelle Steel by 102 votes in California’s 45th Congressional District after Steel had maintained a lead since Election Day. 

Steel, born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Japan, has represented the 45th District since 2023 and represented the 48th Congressional District before that, from 2021 to 2023.

The district spreads across Los Angeles County and Orange County and includes the cities of Cerritos, Garden Grove, Buena Park and parts of Brea, Lakewood and Fullerton. 

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GOP Rep. Michelle Steel, left, and challenger Derek Tran, right (Getty Images)

“I am so thankful to all those who continue to support our campaign as we count the remaining votes in #CA45,” Tran posted on X Monday. “Over 10,000 lawfully cast ballots are outstanding, and we owe it to every Californian to ensure their voice is heard.”

A victory for Tran, the son of Vietnamese refugees, would be a crucial flip for Democrats, who will not control the House in January but are attempting to chip away at a Republican margin that stands at 218 to 212 with several races still to be called.

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Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Huntington Beach, speaks to supporters at her campaign office in Buena Park, Calif., Sept. 26, 2022. (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

President-elect Trump endorsed Steel in October, calling her one of the nation’s “strongest congresswomen.”

The race between Steel and Tran was the most expensive House race in the country with more than $46 million spent, LAist reported.

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Democratic congressional candidate Derek Tran spoke on Jon Lovett’s podcast “Lovett or Leave It.” (YouTube screenshot)

Five House races have yet to be called across the country. Democrats lead in two of them, and Republicans lead in three.

In addition to California’s 45th, Democrats lead in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, where incumbent Rep. Marcy Kaptur is up by roughly 1,000 votes with 99% of ballots counted. 

Republicans hold leads in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, California’s 13th District and Alaska’s At-Large Congressional District. 

The Steel campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.