Former California Assemblymember Adam Gray claimed victory Tuesday in his race against first-term Rep. John Duarte in the final uncalled House race of 2024. Duarte conceded the race, according to multiple reports.
In the latest count for the 13th District race, Gray led Duarte by 187 votes.
“The final results confirm this district is ready for independent and accountable leadership that always puts the [Central] Valley’s people ahead of partisan politics,” Gray said in his victory statement.
Gray's win will leave Republicans with a very narrow 220-215 margin in the House.
Duarte was tough on California’s Democratic supermajority and the Biden administration for losing sight of statewide water projects, particularly the delayed Sites Reservoir. He and other valley lawmakers hosted a field hearing in September to reconcile state control of the water supply and the biological opinions governing the Central Valley Project and State Water Project.
As chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, Gray requested an audit of the state’s two water regulators after the California Department of Water Resources released an additional 700,000 acre-feet of water from the state’s reservoirs based on outdated operational procedures.
Both candidates prioritized cost of living, jobs and healthcare while on the campaign trail. While in the Legislature, Gray helped secure funding for the University of California, Merced’s Agricultural Science and Industrial Technology Complex, intended to train students for jobs related to ag tech.
“A lot of those grant opportunities need to be made into investments here in the valley that are part of production, agriculture, and things like methane digesters on dairies and different opportunities to help people innovate, do something good for the climate and the environment, but also do something good for their business,” Gray said to Agri-Pulse in August.For more news, go to Agri-Pulse.com.
