John Duarte takes slim lead over Adam Gray in House race, latest Valley ballot counts show

Madera County’s first election update in six days offered another tilt in a see-saw battle for 13th Congressional District in central California – a race in which neither candidate has held a lead of even one percentage point since Election Night on Nov. 8.

Republican contender John Duarte, a farmer and businessman from Hughson, regained a slim advantage Wednesday night over longtime Assemblymember Adam Gray, D-Merced, with the latest returns.

Duarte now has 60,084 votes from across Fresno, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties, to take a 963-vote lead over Gray, who has garnered 59,121.

By percentages, Duarte’s has a 50.4% advantage to Gray’s 49.6% – a gap that remains subject to more change as other counties continue to process their remaining ballots.

The 13th District is one that has been closely watched by national political observers as Republicans sought to regain control of the House of Representatives. On the airwaves, the race was one of the most hotly contested and vitriolic Congressional elections in California and perhaps the U.S.

Republican turnout high in Madera County

Madera County has offered Duarte the largest margin over Gray among the five counties that are partially encompassed by the 13th Congressional district: 3,554 votes. That more than makes up for smaller advantages that Gray has in Merced, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.

A Republican-leaning trend in Madera County also served to cut into the margin between candidates for the 27th Assembly District on Wednesday night.

Democrat Esmeralda Soria, currently a member of the Fresno City Council, previously had a lead of more than 2,000 votes over rival Mark Pazin, R-Merced, the former Merced County sheriff.

After the latest Madera County update, that advantage had been pared to fewer than 1,600 votes. Soria now has 42,909 votes, or 50.9%, to 41,328 or 49.1% for Pazin.

More than 84,000 votes have been counted in the district, which includes portions of Madera, Merced and Fresno counties. Madera County is the only part of the district in which Pazin is leading Soria.