Unlikely battleground California plays key role — again — in setting US House’s political balance

AP Political Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Democrats and Republicans agreed on at least one thing before November’s election: California would play a central role in determining which party controls the U.S. House. Indeed it did. Democrats in the left-leaning state succeeded in seizing three GOP-held seats, but Republicans held their ground in two other toss-up contests and helped the party defend its narrow majority in Washington. One contest in the state’s Central Valley farm belt was so close it was the final House race decided this year, nearly a month after Election Day. It was a reminder that even in a state known as Democratic fortress, pockets of GOP strength remain.