Devin Nunes pulls ahead in reelection bid against Phil Arballo for California district

Election officials had not declared a winner in the congressional race between Republican Rep. Devin Nunes and Democrat Phil Arballo on Election Night.

Early returns showed a thin margin between the two candidates. Nunes held 52.6% of the votes counted as of 11:35 p.m. with 97% of the precincts partially reporting in the district that stretches on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley in Fresno and Tulare counties.

Nunes, R-Tulare, has served in Congress since 2003 and consistently won reelection by margins greater than 30% until 2018, when his national reputation as an ally to President Donald Trump propelled a well-funded challenge by Democrat Andrew Janz. Nunes won the race by five percentage points.

After that comparatively close race, the Democratic Party announced Nunes was one of its top targets.

Democrat Arballo, a Fresno businessman, raised $4.5 million for the race and did not receive much financial support from his party. Nunes, meanwhile, pulled in $23.7 million for his reelection.

Arballo trumpeted the close returns in a written statement late Tuesday.

“The people of the Central Valley are tired of having an absent representative and are ready for change, and that shows in the record shattering turnout. We are in a position to win this race and with thousands of votes still outstanding, every vote must be counted,” he said.

It’s not a surprise that the race does not have an immediate winner. The majority of votes in California this year are expected to come from mail-in ballots, and officials have 17 days after Election Day to continue counting ballots, as long as they were postmarked by Election Day. Many races in California, except a few solidly blue Democrat seats, have not been officially called yet.

Here are the results for other congressional races in California’s San Joaquin Valley.

21st Congressional District

Former Republican Rep. David Valadao, of Hanford, is challenging Rep. TJ Cox, D-Fresno, to take back his old seat. As of 11:30 p.m. with 85% of precincts partially reporting, Valadao had 51% of the votes. Out of nearly 108,000 votes counted, the margin was 2,672.

The results of this election have not been called yet. The last race between the same two candidates in 2018 was decided by 862 votes, so it could be days or weeks before election officials have results in that race.

Results aren’t officially due until 30 days after Election Day in California.

4th Congressional District

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, had 53% of he vote as of 11:30 p.m. in his race against Democrat Brynne Kennedy. McClintock’s race was consistently rated “likely Republican” by nonpartisan race watchers. The district spans the Mother Lode south iinto eastern Fresno County.

16th Congressional District

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, defeated Republican challenger Kevin Cookingham. As of 11:30 p.m., Costa had 60.5% of the vote. Race watchers did not expect Costa to have a problem with re-election this year, rating his race “solid Democrat.”