California’s 16th Congressional District
In what could cap off a disastrous election night for Democrats, incumbent Jim Costa (D) is down to challenger Johnny Tacherra (R) in what could be a blind-side victory for Republicans in the Central Valley.
Costa, the lone Democrat representing the Valley in Congress, was expected to have a cake walk into re-election. However, following the national trend, this race could be bad news for an already suffering Democratic party.
Still too close to call as of midnight Tuesday, the race may come down to late-counted provisional ballots and a possible recount.
Costa said that he was confident that ballots counted later in the night would push him over the edge, according to ABC 30. However, as of midnight he was down 49.5 percent to Tacherra’s 50.5 percent with 100 percent of precincts reporting.
Fresno City Council District 1
In the final Fresno City Council race of 2014, Esmeralda Soria and Cary Catalano battled for a termed-out Councilman Blong Xiong’s seat, and, in what turned out to be a nail biter, the race was too close to call.
By midnight, the difference between the two candidates vying for the District 1 seat was just 20 votes with all precincts reporting. Those votes, coupled with the late-counted provisional ballots, could toss the race either way.
Earlier in the night, Soria said that she was confident in her chances and “excited about this overwhelming support out in the community.”
“The majority of the volunteers that did help me were from Fresno State and Fresno City College,” she said. “So it’s just very exciting to see us really hitting the pavement.”
