(CN) — Republican Young Kim defeated Democratic U.S. Representative Gil Cisneros after a nail-biting race in one of Southern California’s swing districts.
Kim’s victory secures the second seat the GOP managed to wrest away from Democratic control in the Golden State this election cycle.
The businesswoman with past experience as a lawmaker, clinched the win Friday in California’s 39th Congressional District. The race had been too close to call since election night last Tuesday. Kim earned 50.6% of the vote over Cisneros’s 49.4% with just a little over 4,000 votes separating the two candidates.
Friday’s call for Kim comes just two years after Kim and Cisneros squared off in 2018 for the same seat. While the 2018 race was initially called for Kim — who even made the journey to D.C. to prepare for her new congressional role — a subsequent count of additional ballots ultimately gave the win to Cisneros.
Cisneros’s 2018 victory not only assisted Democrats in their successful effort to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives but also flipped a district that had previously been held by Republicans and serves as a more friendly battleground for the GOP in an otherwise largely blue state.
Democrats first eyed the district as a potential flip when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won Orange County, which is situated in California’s 39th, in 2016. She was the first Democratic to do so in a presidential election since Franklin Delano Roosevelt claimed the county in 1936 during the Great Depression.
Democrats continued that winning streak on the presidential level in 2020 with President- Elect Joe Biden carrying Orange County this cycle, but Kim’s victory in her rematch with Cisneros puts the purple district back under congressional Republican control once more.
Cisneros, a Navy veteran and first-time candidate in 2018 after a $266 million lottery win launched him into philanthropy and politics, congratulated Kim Friday evening shortly after the race was called.
“The voters have spoken, and I want to congratulate @YoungKimCA on her victory and wish her nothing but success for the 39th District,” Cisneros tweeted.
Kim’s win is the second successful congressional flip for Republicans in California this year. Michelle Steel, also Republican, won California’s 48th Congressional District on Tuesday by defeating Democratic Representative Harley Rouda.
Kim posted a short video message on Twitter after her win in which she thanked her supporters and said she looked forward to serving with her soon-to-be Republican and Democratic colleagues in January.
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