Former Assemblywoman Young Kim added 13 votes to her lead Thursday and is 4,058 votes ahead of Rep. Gil Cisneros in their rematch in the 39th Congressional District.
Kim leads 50.6%-49.4% in the district running from Walnut in the north to Chino Hills in the east, Hacienda Heights in the west and Fullerton in the south. Kim has 170,593 votes and Cisneros 166,535, according to figures released Thursday by the Secretary of State’s Office.
Kim led by 4,160 votes entering Wednesday’s count. Then the lead slipped to 4,045 by the end of day Wednesday.
It is not known how many ballots are left to count. Mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day can be received as late as Nov. 20 and still be counted under state law.
In 2018 Cisneros, D-Yorba Linda, defeated Kim, 51.6%-48.4%, 126,002-118,391, to succeed Rep. Ed Royce, R-Fullerton, who held the seat from 1993-2019. Kim had been a member of Royce’s staff.
Kim, R-La Habra, was leading in the vote count in 2018 and traveled to Washington, D.C., for orientation for newly elected House members, only to be overtaken by Cisneros in late-arriving ballots.
Kim is seeking to be the second Republican to oust a Democratic Orange County House member first elected in 2018. Rep. Harley Rouda, D-Newport Beach, conceded defeat to Board of Supervisors Chair Michelle Steel Tuesday in the coastal 48th Congressional District.
Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, D- Irvine, declared victory Thursday in her race against former Newport Beach Mayor Diane Dixon.
Petrie-Norris had 132,776 votes, or 50.51%, and Dixon 130,072, or 49.49%.
“It is an honor to serve Orange County in the state Assembly, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to continue working on the critical public health and economic issues facing our state,” Petrie-Norris said.