Democratic Reps. Jim Costa and Josh Harder were projected as victors in two agriculture-rich House districts in California’s Central Valley as vote-counting continued a week after the mid-term elections. Costa and Harder serve on the House Agriculture Committee.
Their re-elections were the final races involving Agriculture members to be called by the Associated Press. Five members of the committee, four Democrats and one Republican, were defeated. The New York Times said Republicans needed to win one more seat to hold a House majority of 218. Democrats had won 209 seats as of Tuesday night.
Costa, the second-ranking Democrat on the Agriculture Committee, held a 10-point lead over Republican Michael Maher, a businessman and Navy veteran, with 84 percent of the vote counted. It will be Costa’s 10th term in the House.
With 79 percent of ballots counted, Harder, seeking his third term, led Republican Tom Patti, a member of the San Joaquin County board of supervisors, by 12 points.
Both districts were strongly Democratic.