The race for California's 45th Congressional District is incredibly tight, and allegations of possible fraud are being raised by Republican lawmakers and conservative commentators as Democrat Derek Tran took a 36-vote lead over incumbent Republican Rep. Michelle Steel.
According to the California Secretary of State's office, the latest ballot count shows Tran leading Steel by 152,981 to 152,945 votes. Both candidates are at 50% of the total vote share. Steel led by over 11,000 votes just days after the election.
The district spans portions of both Orange and Los Angeles counties. Steel maintains a lead in the Orange County part, while Tran leads in the Los Angeles County portion of the district.
According to Newsweek, Steel's lead has decreased steadily over the last week or so. Tran was behind by 58 votes before Saturday's count resumed.
Before that, the gap narrowed from 11,363 votes on Nov. 6, to 7,590 on Nov. 8, 6,901 on Nov. 9, and 6,128 last Sunday, when only Los Angeles County portion ballots were counted. The margin continued to shrink to 3,908 on Monday, 2,227 on Tuesday, 349 on Wednesday, and 236 on Thursday.
Jeremy Frankel ✉
Jeremy Frankel is a Newsmax writer reporting on news and politics.
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