(THE BLAZE) – Republican Rep. David Valadao has defeated incumbent Democratic Rep. TJ Cox in California’s 21st Congressional District, the Associated Press reported Friday afternoon.
Valadao, who represented the district for three terms starting in 2013, edged Cox in the tight race by nearly 1 percentage point, or just over 1,500 votes, to reclaim the seat he narrowly lost two years ago.
Valadao endorsed President Donald Trump ahead of this year’s election, something he opted not to do in 2016. Backing the president was considered a risky move due to the fact that Trump lost the district to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 15 points four years ago. Evidently this time around, it paid off.
