More good news for Californians and the nation: Republican Young Kim has defeated incumbent Democrat Gil Cisneros for the California District 39 House seat. Kim went up against Cisneros in 2018 and was declared the winner; until ballot harvesting ate away at her lead and Cisneros captured the seat. So, Kim flipping the Blue seat back to Red two years later makes the victory all the sweeter.

BREAKING: Republican Young Kim wins election to U.S. House in California's 39th Congressional District, beating incumbent Rep. Gil Cisneros. #APracecall at 5:36 p.m. PST. #Election2020 #CAelection https://t.co/lGfinjTqT4

— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) November 14, 2020

Republicans will now have at least 203 seats in the next House, eating away at the Democrat majority.

According to the AP:

“Democrats have nailed down at least 219 seats and could win a few others when more votes are counted. That ensures they will hold the House for two more years but with a smaller, potentially razor-thin majority, a bittersweet finale to last week’s elections that has left them divided and with scant margin for error for advancing their agenda.”

Like her colleague Michelle Steel (CA-48), Kim is Korean-American, boosting the GOP’s diversity and cementing its face as the working people’s party.

Republicans have now flipped 11 House seats:

CA-39 Young Kim
CA-48 Michelle Steel
FL-27 Maria Elvira Salazar
FL-26 Carlos Gimenez
IA-01 Ashley Hinson
MI-03 Peter Meijer
MN-07 Michelle Fischbach
NY-11 Nicole Malliotakis
NM-02 Yvette Herrell
OK-05 Stephanie Bice
SC-01 Nancy Mace

— Kyle Morris (@RealKyleMorris) November 14, 2020

There are still seats in the balance, but like Kim’s race against Cisneros, Republicans could be looking forward to flipping and maintaining these crucial seats.

“With wins by Steel and Kim, and are leading in two others: the Central Valley’s 21st District, where Republican former Rep. David Valadao was ahead of Democratic Rep. TJ Cox, and the 25th District north of Los Angeles, where Republican Rep. Mike Garcia was in a back-and-forth fight with Democrat Christy Smith.

“Republicans also held the open 50th District seat anchored in San Diego County, which former U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa will represent after winning his comeback bid two years after deciding not to seek reelection in a neighboring district that has become more Democratic. The 50th District has a nearly 10-point GOP registration edge. The seat was vacated earlier this year by Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter after he pleaded guilty to a federal corruption charge.

“The wins by Kim and Steel mark a surprising turnaround in a state where Democrats hold every statewide office, have commanding majorities in the Legislature and congressional delegation, and a nearly 2-to-1 advantage over Republicans in registered voters.”

Kim, 58, is a former California state legislator.