California Rep. Jerry McNerney claimed victory Wednesday after the latest vote tally put the second-term Democrat up by 1,681 votes, but Republican David Harmer accused McNerney of a premature celebration.
“Congressman Jerry McNerney has won re-election in California’s 11th Congressional District,” McNerney campaign manager Doug Greven said in a statement. “With the vast majority of votes tallied, the results are clear. Congressman McNerney now has an insurmountable lead.”
Harmer countered that he did not claim victory on election night when he was up “by thousands of votes,” because “many votes remained to be counted.”
“That is still the case tonight,” Harmer said in a statement. “Just as it would have been premature to claim victory then, it would be premature to concede defeat now.”
Harmer said he would “offer a statement about the results” once “every legitimate vote is accurately counted.”
According to the McNerney campaign, 11,000 provisional and vote-by-mail ballots remain to be counted in San Joaquin and Contra Costa counties. Harmer holds a slight edge in both counties but, according to McNerney, not enough to make up the difference.
McNerney leads in Alameda and Santa Clara counties, in which 700 ballots remain uncounted.
Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, arrives for a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the investigation of the IRS' targeting of political groups. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not testify and caused a protest from some committee members when she offered an opening statement and engaged in dialogue with members before invoking the right.
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