VC Star – Ventura County Star
Julia Brownley wins House race as lead grows to nearly double digits; Jacobs concedes
Tom Kisken, Ventura County Star – November 17, 2022
U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley has won a sixth term in Congress.
The Democrat from Westlake Village declared victory in her race on Saturday and Republican challenger Matt Jacobs conceded on Tuesday. Election updates two days later left Brownley with 54% of the votes to 46% for Jacobs.
Districtwide, Brownley received 117,609 votes as of the latest tally. Jacobs, a former federal prosecutor who lives in Westlake Village, had 100,018 votes.
“I am humbled and honored by the voters’ decision to elect me once again to represent our community in Congress,” she said in a victory statement issued Saturday after CNN, NBC and ABC declared her the winner. Several hours later, the Associated Press also called Brownley the winner.
“This was a race about values, about the economy and the economic prosperity of America’s working families and about our future,” she said.
Election central: Your guide to Ventura County races
Jacobs, a former federal prosecutor making his first race for office, conceded late Tuesday afternoon.
“The election was fair, the result is legitimate and I sincerely wish Congresswoman Brownley and her family all the best, both personally and as our representative in Congress,” he said in a written statement that also expressed pride in his campaign.
Election officials estimated about 79,000 votes are still to be processed across Ventura County though some are from outside of the district, which does not include Ventura and Ojai. It’s unclear how many ballots are still to be counted in the small part of the district in Los Angeles County.
In her victory statement and in her campaign, Brownley focused on abortion rights.
“While the Republican party focused solely on inflation with no plan to address it, they failed to understand that protecting a woman’s right to choose is not only a moral issue but an economic one,” she said.
The race was one of several being tracked nationally as Republicans and Democrats vied for control of the House. The contest gained more attention immediately before the election amid a flurry of fundraising and reports of polls showing a tight race.
Redistricting brought all of more conservative Simi Valley into the 26th but Democrats still accounted for 43% of the registered voters across the district as of late October, compared to 28% for Republicans