By Tony Hicks, Bay City News Service
Unlike the presidential race, which raged on the day after Election Day, there was very little drama in Bay Area congressional races Wednesday.
Incumbent Democrats ruled the day in all 12 House races involving Bay Area congressional districts.
District 2 Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) won his fifth term, beating Republican Dale K. Mensing with 78 percent of the vote.
Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) won his 12th term in Congress, easily defeating Scott Giblin with 78.6 percent of the vote.
The only race in which a significant number of ballots were still being counted 12 hours after the polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday night was in District 9, where incumbent Democrat Jerry McNerney led Republican Antionio C. Amador with 61.7 percent of the vote, to Amador’s 38.3 percent, with 55 percent of precincts reporting.
The closest contest was in District 3 – covering much of Solano County and areas north of the Bay Area – in which John Garamendi defeated Republican Tamika Hamilton with 58.1 percent of the vote.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi easily won her 18th term in Congress, defeating fellow Democrat Shahid Buttar with 79.2 percent of the vote in San Francisco’s District 12.
Contra Costa County’s Mark DeSaulnier breezed by Republican challenger Nisha Sharma with 75.3 percent of the vote, sending him back to Congress for the fourth time.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Eric Swalwell beat Republican Alison Hayden with 72.8 percent of the vote, retaining his District 15 seat, which covers most of eastern and southwestern Alameda County, as well as part of Contra Costa.
Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) dominated Republican Nikka Piterman in District 13, winning her 12th term with 91 percent of the vote. Lee’s district covers western Alameda County, from Albany to San Leandro and includes Oakland and Berkeley.
Democrat Jackie Speier beat Republican Ran S. Petel in District 14, winning her fifth term in the House with 80.5% of the vote. Speier’s district covers San Mateo County and a small part of San Francisco.
Incumbent Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) defeated Republican Ritesh Tandon with 74.1 percent of the vote, winning his third congressional term, representing California’s District 17, which covers parts of Santa Clara and Alameda counties.
Democrat Zoe Lofgren won her 14th congressional term, easily defeating Republican Justin James Aguilera with 74.1 percent of ballots cast. Lofgren represents most of San Jose, Gilroy and Morgan Hill.
Democrat Anna Eshoo won her 15th term in Congress, beating fellow Democrat Rishi Kumar in District 18 with 65.7 percent of the vote. Eshoo’s district covers parts of Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz counties.
