Gil Cisneros, Democratic candidate for California's 39th Congressional District, leaves after speaking at an election night party on Nov. 6 in Fullerton, Calif. | Jae C. Hong/AP Photo Elections Cisneros defeats Kim in Southern California, turning Orange County blue

Democrat Gil Cisneros has defeated Republican Young Kim in the race for California's 39th Congressional District, officially turning the former GOP stronghold of Orange County entirely blue.

Democrats, who needed a net gain of 23 seats to reclaim the House from Republicans, have now picked up 38 seats. The contest between Cisneros and Kim was the last House race of the 2018 cycle yet to be decided in California.


Cisneros' win follows a victory Thursday by Democratic House candidate Katie Porter, who unseated two-term incumbent Republican Rep. Mimi Walters in California's 45th district — the penultimate Orange County district to fall out of Republicans' hands.

Cisneros will succeed retiring Rep. Ed Royce, a Republican.