Propelled by redistricting and voter disapproval of President Donald Trump, Democrats notched big wins. Even a seat projected to be safely Republican is in play.
Nov 5, 2026
Updated 5:50 pm PT
Congressional candidate Marni Von Wilpert marches during the 2026 San Diego Pride Parade on July 18, 2026, in San Diego, California. (Daniel Knighton/
Even with a surge of Democratic wins in California House races this week, the party did not end up needing the state to retake the majority in the next Congress.
Democrats have already flipped five Republican-held seats in California, propelled by voter disapproval of President Donald Trump and a pro-Democratic redistricting approved by California voters last year. One more seat, which had actually been redrawn to gain more Republicans, was still in striking distance Thursday.
Nationwide, the Associated Press called control
Nationwide, the Associated Press called control of the House decisively for the Democrats on Tuesday night before many California races had even been settled.
Underscoring just how dire this midterm election has become for the GOP, that seat could potentially flip to Democratic control even after being shifted to the right in the Proposition 50 redistricting process. It had been rated a safe Republican seat by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
In Northern California, the 1st Congressional District was redrawn to add more than 100,000 voters in reliably blue Sonoma County. There, Democratic state Sen. Mike McGuire handily defeated incumbent Republican Rep. James Gallagher.
Folks from every corner of Northern California spoke
“Folks from every corner of Northern California spoke up, turned out, and delivered an overwhelming message — they’re tired of the constant chaos and an economy that works against them,” McGuire said in a statement.
The Proposition 50 map also reshuffled district lines around Sacramento, prompting Rep. Kevin Kiley to leave the Republican Party and run as an independent in a new district. Still, Democrat Richard Pan, a physician and former state senator from the area, defeated him in the 6th District.
Under California’s new maps, the 41st Congressional District was transformed from a competitive Inland Empire seat held by Republican Rep. Ken Calvert into a safe Democrat district covering parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties. After Calvert chose to run in another district, it was easily captured Tuesday night by Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez.
Another Republican incumbent, Rep
Another Republican incumbent, Rep. Darrell Issa, decided not to run for reelection after his 48th District seat added friendly Democratic terrain in Palm Springs and northern San Diego County.
In the race to succeed Issa, Democrat Marni von Wilpert, a San Diego City Council member, defeated Republican Jim Desmond, a San Diego County supervisor.
“Tonight the voters of this district are sending a clear message — they’re tired of a corrupt Congress and out of control costs and ready for a representative who will fight for them,” Von Wilpert said in a statement.
The state’s most contested congressional battleground was expected
The state’s most contested congressional battleground was expected to be the Central Valley, where gains made by Republicans in 2024 in majority-Latino districts appear to have eroded in the face of voter frustration over high prices.
“Affordability is just a huge concern for people in that part of the state,” said Eric McGhee, senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. “A lot of people there think that the economy is not going in the right direction.”
Those trends likely helped oust Republican Rep. David Valadao, who will lose to his progressive Democratic challenger, Randy Villegas, by a margin that could exceed 30 points in the 22nd Congressional District.
The people of the Valley made their voices
“The people of the Valley made their voices heard loud and clear: the Central Valley is not for sale,” Villegas said in a statement. “This victory belongs to the voters, hundreds of volunteers, tens of thousands of grassroots donors, and working families who believed we could build something better together.”
Heading into Election Day, the 22nd District was rated California’s only true toss-up House seat, according to the Cook Political Report. Although the district saw the largest pro-Trump shift between 2020 and 2024, it is home to the highest share of residents on Medicaid, the healthcare safety net program that Valadao and fellow Republicans voted to slash in a 2025 tax cut bill.
Those cross-pressures were felt across the working-class inland seats that formed California’s House battleground. The downsides of Trump’s health cuts, war in Iran and immigration enforcement seemed to be uniquely concentrated in the very areas that moved most toward the president and Republicans in 2024.
In the 13th Congressional District, which stretches
In the 13th Congressional District, which stretches from Stockton to Merced, Democratic Rep. Adam Gray cruised to victory over former Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln, a Republican.
“Approval of Trump is very low pretty much everywhere in the state, but it’s in the low-30s range for those two competitive Central Valley districts,” said McGhee.
Republicans viewed Valadao as the California incumbent best positioned to survive a blue wave. He has lost the biennially competitive seat just once, in 2018, and maintains an independent streak — evidenced by his 2021 vote to impeach Trump.
Villegas bested an establishment-backed Democrat in the primary
Villegas bested an establishment-backed Democrat in the primary and ran on a promise to take on entrenched monied interests in both parties. Bucking the Central Valley archetype of moderate Democratic candidates, he rallied with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the closing weeks of the race.
Both parties poured money into the district. Democratic committees spent $18.9 million to support Villegas, while GOP groups spent $11.8 million to back Valadao — the 10th-most outside spending of any House race in the country, according to the California Target Book.
In the 13th District, Gray cut a more centrist path, touting the federal dollars he brought back to Modesto and Merced and vowing to work across the aisle with Republicans. Lincoln hammered Gray over his vote to raise the gas tax as a member of the state Assembly, but both parties pulled their television ad bookings in the final days of the campaign as the likely outcome became clear.
