Another Democrat Smacked Down? Darrell Issa Holds on to Lead in a Close Race

This election has been full of shocks and surprises. And not only due to Donald Trump’s unexpected win over Hillary Clinton. One of the most followed races down ballot this year was the U.S. House race between incumbent California Representative Darrell Issa (R) and Democratic candidate Doug Applegate, with Issa expected to lose.

As of Friday night, the totals for the 49th Congressional stood at Issa ahead with 100,934 to Applegate’s 96,830. That’s just over 4,000 votes with roughly 400,000 provisional ballots still left to count. The areas that are still counting would indicate that Issa will be able to hold on to his lead and, indeed, the popular Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has declared a win. Applegate, on the other hand, is doing as expected and holding off on conceding until more votes are counted.

Retaining Darrell Issa in the House of Representatives will be an unexpected boon for many Republicans who lamented losing him as a member of the Republican caucus. With Donald Trump losing every county in Issa’s district — even Republican stronghold, Orange County — it’s a testament to Issa’s own record, accomplishments, and name recognition if he pulls out an official win in the coming hours or days.

Despite all the projections, the Republicans pulled off a stunning election last week no matter which way you look at it.

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