Filipino American Congressman in danger of losing his seat, holds out until all votes counted

California's Rep. TJ Cox, left,  is holding out hope in his tight congressional race against
former Congressman David Valadao.

Republican David Valadao declared victory Wednesday; the Fresno Bee headlined a Valadao win last week, the Washington Post agrees, and on Friday the Associated Press called the District 21 race for the Republican. But incumbent Rep. TJ Cox still has not conceded for the Congressional seat for California's 21st district.

"Almost three years ago, I entered this race as an underdog. But we out-worked our opponent and pulled off the most stunning upset in Central Valley history. However, it took a while," Cox wrote on Facebook.

"2018 taught us it’s not over until every vote is counted. Taking that lesson to heart, I do not plan to make a statement on the outcome of the election until every vote is counted and we have the final results, certified by all four counties in this district." posted Cox, one of only two members of Congress of Filipino descent.

Cox won the 2018 contest by just over 865 votes and was the last congressional district in the nation to declare the winner. In that race, AP also called the race for Valadao before Cox pulled ahead in the final vote count.

On the day before Thanksgiving, the California Secretary of State reported that Valadao had 50.5 percent of the vote, and Cox had 49.5 percent -- a razor-thin margin of 1,754 votes.

The sprawling 21st Congressional District in California's Central Valley includes Kings County and parts of Fresno, Tulare and Kern counties with powerful agricultural interests, most of whom supported Valadao. 

Despite Democrats having an edge in the 21st District, Central Valley Republicans are more reliable voters. The neighboring 22nd and 23rd districts are represented, respectively, by Congressman Devin Nunes and Kevin McCarthy, the Republican Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

According to the Secretary of State's "unprocessed ballot report" made available on Thanksgiving Day, Fresno County completed its vote count, while Kern had 10,837, Tulare had 1,979 and Kings had 419 still to count. However, it wasn't known how many of those ballots contained votes in the 21st Congressional District race.

Valadao's win makes three districts Republicans flipped in California after losing seven in 2018.

On his Facebook page posted before AP's announcement, Cox wrote: "I do not plan to make a statement on the outcome of the election until every vote is counted and we have the final results, certified by all four counties in this district."