Inside the 7 Unresolved House Races

By Julie Sobel and Scott Bland  //  November 8, 2012 | 3:51 p.m.

The election is over -- but not in a few House districts. First of all, GOP Reps. Charles Boustany and Jeff Landry have a December runoff coming up in Louisiana's 3rd District, after neither won a majority on Tuesday. But a handful of races that will eventually produce a winner haven't been resolved. Here's the current status of the seven races still in question:

-- Arizona's 2nd and 9th Districts:

In Arizona, over 602,000 early and provisional ballots remain uncounted -- nearly 450,000 of which are in Maricopa County, the state's population center. That should at the very least tighten the Senate race, but it could affect the outcomes of two House races, too.

In the 2nd District, Democratic Rep. Ron Barber is slightly behind GOP challenger Martha McSally -- the Arizona Daily Star reports that McSally led by about 1,300 votes, but that has already narrowed to 426 in the latest tally, and tens of thousands of provisional and early ballots have yet to be counted. There is reason to believe they will favor Barber.

In 2010, then-Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (who Barber replaced) beat Republican Jesse Kelly by just over 12,000 in early voting and narrowly in the provisional ballots -- enough to win despite trailing in votes cast on Election Day. Barber pulled the same trick against Kelly in the June special election to replace Giffords.

In the 9th District, Democratic nominee Krysten Sinema holds a small lead over Republican Vernon Parker -- 2,715 votes. Sinema's campaign manager said that lead had grown from 600 in the morning as uncounted early and provisional ballots turned out to favor the Democrat.

-- Florida's 18th District: In one of the most-watched House races in the nation, GOP Rep. Allen West trails Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy by 2,456 votes. Though it's outside the margin for a recount, West is calling for one. His campaign is citing "disturbing irregularities" at polling places in St. Lucie County. -- California's 7th, 36th, and 52nd Districts: In the state's 7th District, GOP Rep. Dan Lungren narrowly trails Democratic opponent Ami Bera with numerous ballots still to be counted. The Sacramento Bee:

Bera late Wednesday led by just 186 votes out of more than 176,000 ballots counted. The race for the east Sacramento County seat is far from over. Election officials said Wednesday that they still need to process 162,000 absentee and 31,000 provisional ballots cast countywide.

In the 36th District, GOP Rep. Mary Bono Mack is losing to Democratic challenger Raul Ruiz by over 4,500 votes -- but says she won't concede yet. Over 183,000 ballots still need to be counted in the county -- though it's not clear how many of those are from the 36th District. Bono Mack had earlier said (early Wednesday morning) that, looking at the numbers, "Historically speaking, he will win." In the 52nd District, Democrat Scott Peters is leading GOP Rep. Brian Bilbray by 685 votes with all precincts reporting -- but still to be counted are about 475,000 absentee and provisional ballots in the county, and Bilbray's spokesperson told the U-T San Diego that between 120,000 and 125,000 of those are from the district. -- North Carolina's 7th District: Democratic Rep. Mike McIntyre has a slim, 507-vote lead over state Sen. David Rouzer -- but about 4,500 provisional ballots are not yet counted in the counties that lie completely or almost fully within the district, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. A possible recount, if one becomes necessary, wouldn't begin until November 26.

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Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief
Steve Shepard, Executive Editor
Julie Sobel, Editor
Kevin Brennan, Deputy Editor


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