Democrat Harley Rouda led Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher early Wednesday in the race to represent Orange County’s coastal 48th Congressional District.

With all precincts reporting, Rouda held 50.7 percent of the vote. There remain thousands of provisional and late vote-by-mail ballots from the district left to be counted post-election. Neither candidate claimed victory as of early Wednesday morning.

The contest has put Rohrabacher, a 30-year incumbent, in the toughest fight of his political career as he’s battled to retain the once reliably conservative seat. Polls have suggested that Rouda, a Laguna Beach real estate executive, turned the seat into a coin flip.

The district is one of four in Orange County and seven in California targeted by national Democrats in their effort to flip 23 GOP-held seats nationally to take control of the House of Representatives. Democrats managed to achieve that goal even before the California House races were decided.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-48) speaks to the media while he waits for election results at Skosh Monahan’s in Costa Mesa, CA, on Tuesday, Nov 6, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Democratic candidate for the 48th Congressional District Harley Rouda, speaks to a crowd of supporters at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel Tuesday night. Newport Beach on Wednesday, November 7, 2018. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

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Joy Price cheers as results in the 48th Congressional district race are finally shown on tv. Democratic candidate for the 48th Congressional District Harley Rouda, a Laguna Beach real estate executive, at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel Tuesday night. Newport Beach on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-48) speaks to the media while he waits for election results at Skosh Monahan’s in Costa Mesa, CA, on Tuesday, Nov 6, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Democratic candidate for the 48th Congressional District Harley Rouda, greets a crowd of supporters athis election watch party at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel Tuesday night. Newport Beach on Wednesday, November 7, 2018. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)



Molly Logan takes a photo of the news media stand as Democratic candidate for the 48th Congressional District Harley Rouda, a Laguna Beach real estate executive, held his election night party at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel Tuesday night. Newport Beach on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

Christmas Atanous watches elections returns at Skosh Monahan’s as Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-48) attends a party at his headquarters above the bar in Costa Mesa, CA, on Tuesday, Nov 6, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Visitors to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher’s (R-CA-48) selection watch party exit his headquarters in Costa Mesa, CA, on Tuesday, Nov 6, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Lynn Tomalas, left, Susan Bottassi, center and Becky Martinez react to the news Dianne Feinstein won her re-election bid at a party for Democratic candidate for the 48th Congressional District Harley Rouda, a Laguna Beach real estate executive, at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel Tuesday night. Newport Beach on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

Supporters clap as news trickles in about election victories Tuesday night as Democratic candidate for the 48th Congressional District Harley Rouda, a Laguna Beach real estate executive, held his election night party at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel Tuesday night. Newport Beach on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)



Democratic candidate for the 48th Congressional District Harley Rouda, walks onto the stage at an election watch party at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel Tuesday night. Newport Beach on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-48) speaks to the media while he waits for election results at Skosh Monahan’s in Costa Mesa, CA, on Tuesday, Nov 6, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Democratic candidate for the 48th Congressional District Harley Rouda, a Laguna Beach real estate executive, speaks to his supporters at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel Tuesday night. Newport Beach on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

Hannah Woodworth, a volunteer with the Rouda campaign waits for the results to come in from a very tight race as Democratic candidate for the 48th Congressional District Harley Rouda, a Laguna Beach real estate executive, held his election watch party at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel Tuesday night. Newport Beach on Wednesday, November 7, 2018. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

The race for the 48th Congressional District — which stretches from Laguna Niguel to Seal Beach — has attracted national attention due to its high stakes, narrow margins, and immense spending. It’s also on the national map because of Rohrabacher’s close ties to Russia have featured in the FBI’s probe into Moscow’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

This is Rouda’s first run for public office, prompting Rohrabacher to denounce the Democrat as inexperienced. In turn, Rouda notes that Rohrabacher has passed three bills in three decades, the last one 14 years ago, and has held no committee chairmanships despite his seniority.

Republicans hold an 8.6 percentage point voter registration lead in the seat, though that’s about half what it was only four years ago. And while Rohrabacher won re-election by 17 percentage points in 2016, voters in the district narrowly favored Hillary Clinton for President.

Rohrabacher has campaigned primarily on a hard-line anti-illegal immigration platform, saying the existence of undocumented residents harms Americans, while employing sharp rhetoric and scare tactics similar to President Donald Trump. He has criticized Rouda’s support of sanctuary cities. Rohrabacher also voted against the GOP tax bill, saying it would cause his constituents to pay more.

Rouda, meanwhile, has criticized Rohrabacher for his vote to repeal and replace Obamacare, which, if the bill hadn’t failed, would have caused 14 million fewer people to have insurance this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The Democrat has run on improving the quality and affordability of health care, backing a Medicare-for-all system or a public option.

Part of Rohrabacher’s newfound political vulnerability lies in the fact that he has been frequently mired in controversy. In May, for example, he said that homeowners should be able to refuse to sell their property to gay people.

The Congressman – who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats – also has been scrutinized for his defense of Moscow amid America’s probe into Kremlin interference in the 2016 election.

Rohrabacher has opposed economic sanctions against Russia, rejected U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Russian operatives hacked the Democratic National Committee. He met twice with a woman who federal officials later charged for being an unregistered agent of the Kremlin – basically, an accused Russian spy.

Rohrabacher has said any meetings with Russian operatives were part of his job. He said he advocates only for foreign policies that benefit America and has accused some federal officials of trying to perpetuate a Cold War with Moscow

Environmental issues also have featured prominently in the contest, in part because sea-level rise presents an immediate threat to the district’s coastal communities. Rohrabacher calls manmade global warming a “hoax” despite the scientific community’s near consensus otherwise. Meanwhile, Rouda says global warming is the greatest issue facing mankind, saying he wants to promote green-energy tech.

The contest has become the second most expensive House race in the nation in total spending, and the priciest in terms of outside money spent on independent expenditures. In total, $32.7 million has been spent on the race, nearly two-thirds by Democrats.

In the primary, Rohrabacher fended off a challenge from within his own party, when former Orange County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh entered the race, splitting Republican loyalties locally and spurring vicious intraparty attacks.

Bough’s presence in the race also opened the possibility of an all-GOP November ballot, if the two prominent Republicans both advanced to the top-two runoff. That prompted national Democrats to engage in gamesmanship, including paying for radio ads supporting a third-place Republican candidate. When the votes were tallied, Baugh fell a few thousand ballots shy of making the runoff.