California’s 21st Congressional District stayed Republican, as incumbent Congressman David Valadao was re-elected for a second term.

Defeating Democrat Amanda Renteria, Valadao had earned 58.9 percent of the vote as of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. At that point, nearly 60 percent of precincts had been reported.

“I am so proud of this district. It is a privilege to represent the Central Valley in Congress,” said Valadao, according to The Fresno Bee.

In Renteria’s concession speech, she noted her campaign’s effort to include all areas of the district.

“Clearly, not exactly what we were hoping for tonight, but here’s the reality,” Renteria said. “When we first started this, we said a couple of things. We said we’re going to go to towns no one’s ever been too.

“We’re going to tell people they matter. Not just in this election, but in their communities. And that’s what we’ve done tonight.”

The election campaign saw Valadao, of Hanford, and Renteria, of Sanger, debate over pressing issues affecting the Central Valley such as water, immigration and unemployment.

Both candidates campaigned hard to earn the Hispanic vote, with the 21st District being one of the largest Spanish-speaking electorates in the country. The district is composed of Kings County, western Fresno County, southwestern Tulare County and northwestern Kern County.

Since the primary election in May, which had Valadao with 63 percent of the vote and Renteria with 25.6 percent, polls showed Renteria making significant gains.

A SurveyUSA poll in September had Valadao with 56 percent and Renteria with 37 percent. By October, Valadao was down to 47 percent and Renteria up to 42 percent, meaning Renteria had closed the gap from 19 points to five points.