The election is not over for many candidates seeking to represent Los Angeles County and remains close, as Los Angeles County Recorder/County Clerk Dean C. Logan announced the third subsequent ballot count update to Election Night on Friday, November 8 for Tuesday’s General Election.

Two of the races figured prominently in the battle for control of the House of Representatives, which was still up in the air Friday. With 218 representatives needed, Republicans had picked up 212 seats, while Democrats trailed with 198. That’s an increase of two for the GOP since yesterday and one for the Democrats.

Here’s a look at the closest races in Los Angeles County in the House, California State Senate and Assembly as of Friday afternoon.

House of Representatives

District 27: As pundits watched anxiously, incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Garcia saw his lead narrow a bit on Friday, 50.19% to 49.81%, over his Democratic rival George Whitesides on Thursday. García’s lead decreased from 3,240 votes on Thursday to 993 on Friday. Garcia, a former fighter pilot who was first elected to Congress in 2020, faced fierce competition from Whitesides, a former NASA chief of staff, in this battleground district. The winner will represent parts of northern Los Angeles County, including the desert communities of Lancaster, Palmdale and Santa Clarita.

District 45: Incumbent Republican Rep. Michelle Steel continued to lead Democratic attorney Derek Tran in this battleground race, but her lead eased a bit on Friday. Steel, leading 51.9% to 48.1%, made history as one of the first Korean-American women in Congress when she was elected in 2020. Tran is a political newcomer who hopes to become the first Vietnamese American to represent Little Saigon of Orange County. District 45 represents Hawaiian Gardens and Artesia in southeastern Los Angeles County, as well as parts of northeastern Orange County, and is one of the few Asian-majority districts in the country.

STATE SENATE

District 23: Republican small business owner Suzette Martínez Valladares’ lead increased over Democratic workers’ rights attorney Kipp Mueller, from 53.2% to 46.8%. Valladares served in the Assembly from 2020 to 2022 and was one of the founders of the bipartisan Problem Solvers group. Mueller ran for this position in 2020, but lost to the incumbent, Republican Senator Scott Wilk. Wilk will not seek re-election this year due to term limits. This district represents an area spanning from Santa Clarita and Palmdale in northern Los Angeles County to Wrightwood and Hesperia in San Bernardino County.

District 35: Michelle Chambers maintains her slim lead over Laura Richardson in a Democrat-versus-Democrat battle to replace recalled state Sen. Steven Bradford. Richardson was ahead, 51.1% to 48.9%. Richardson, of San Pedro, is a housing advocate and small business owner who previously served on the Long Beach City Council and in the state Assembly and U.S. House of Representatives. Chambers, who lives in Compton, is an advocate for community justice. He previously served on the Compton City Council and was an aide to then-U.S. Rep. Janice Hahn. Senate District 35 represents residents of southern Los Angeles County. Includes all or parts of Inglewood, Hawthorne, Compton, Carson and San Pedro.

ASSEMBLY

District 40: Incumbent Democratic Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo maintains her lead over Republican rival Patrick Gipson, a former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy. As of Thursday, his lead increased a bit, to 51.56% and Gipson’s 48.44%. Schiavo was first elected to the Assembly in 2022. Gipson, now retired from the county Sheriff’s Department, previously worked as a lifeguard for both the city and County of Los Angeles. The winner will represent the Santa Clarita Valley and the northwest San Fernando Valley.