One of California’s closest elections could tilt House control. How to watch key debate
Tonight will likely see the final debate in one of California’s most consequential House of Representatives elections.
Freshman Rep. John Duarte, R-Modesto, and former Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, will spar for the second time leading up to Nov. 5. The two last debated on Oct. 25 in Modesto.
Duarte and Gray are in a rematch for California’s 13th Congressional District, a race that nonpartisan election analysts say is a tossup. Their contest could help tilt House control toward Democrats or affirm Republicans’ majority. Democrats need to flip just four seats nationwide to take the majority.
Gray lost to Duarte, a farmer and businessman, by four-tenths of a percentage point in 2022, one of the nation’s closest House races that year.
The 13th district, which includes all of Merced County and chunks of Madera, Stanislaus, Fresno and San Joaquin counties, has more registered Democrats than Republicans.
It is one of more than a dozen congressional districts across the country held by GOP congressmen where President Joe Biden would have beaten former President Donald Trump in 2020 had current legislative boundaries been in place. Boundaries were redrawn to reflect the 2020 census. Voters in the new 13th would have picked Biden by 11 points in 2020.
The 13th a Latino-majority voting-age district with a large population of young people. Compared to the rest of California, the San Joaquin Valley tends to have lower turnout, particularly among those two groups, which can lead older, white, more conservative voters to disproportionately impact elections here.
Here’s how to watch this Halloween debate:
When is the debate?
The hour-long debate starts at 7 p.m. Pacific Time tonight.
Who is hosting the debate?
The debate will take place in the KTXL studios in Sacramento. Moderators will be KTXL FOX40 anchor Nikki Laurenzo, a co-host of Inside California Politics, and KGPE CBS47 anchor Brian Dorman.
How can I watch the debate?
The debate will air on KTXL FOX40 and on KGPE CBS47. It will be livestreamed on FOX40.com and YourCentralValley.com and is available on the FOX40 and CBS47 mobile apps.
This story was originally published October 31, 2024 at 8:52 AM with the headline "One of California’s closest elections could tilt House control. How to watch key debate."
