A California U.S. House seat now in Democrats' hands that Republicans most looked forward to picking up appears to be falling into place for its nominee Scott Baugh.
A just-completed survey by WPA Intelligence showed the GOP's Baugh, a stalwart conservative and former Orange County Republican Party chair, for the first time leading in the race to succeed outgoing Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif.
According to WPA's polling of likely voters, Baugh leads Democrat state Sen. David Min 43%-40% district wide.
"Since late September, Baugh has improved with independents [gaining 7%] and Democrats [gaining 6%]," according to WPA's Chris Wilson.
Wilson also noted Baugh is in a near-tie with Min (43%-44%) among college graduates.
Two years ago, Baugh came within a whisker (51.6%-48.4%) of ousting Porter.
With her relinquishing the seat to run for the Senate this year, Baugh found himself in a fall race with Min.
Min is far-left member of the Progressive Caucus in the California State Senate who Republicans have slammed as "soft on crime" for his support of measures such as no cash bail.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.