Steel and Tran Battle for California’s 45th District in Closely Contested House Race

In a tight congressional race, Rep. Michelle Steel was leading by 58 votes on Friday, but her challenger, Democrat Derek Tran, jumped ahead on Saturday and widened his lead to 314 votes on Tuesday as counting continues in the Orange County 45th District. Steel’s lead eroded as mail-in ballots were tallied, a common trend in areas where in-person voting favors Republicans while mail ballots favor Democrats. Tran, hoping to be the first Vietnamese American to represent the district, has run a campaign focused on Asian American outreach while Steel emphasized anti-communist messaging. With about 13,000 ballots still to be counted, groups like Chispa OC are working to ensure that voters who had technical issues with their ballots have an opportunity to correct them by Dec. 1. Both sides are bracing for a potential recount, which could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The race for the 45th District is crucial as it could sway the balance of power in the House of Representatives. As the results remain too close to call, both parties are closely monitoring the situation, with Democrats hoping to secure a victory in a district that narrowly supported Joe Biden in 2020.

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