6 Key 2018 Midterm House Races to Watch
4. California's 39th
With Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, retiring after 25 years in Congress, the race to replace him is between two minority candidates in Democrat philanthropist Gil Cisneros and Republican Young Kim.
Born in Incheon, South Korea, Kim is the first Korean-American to serve in the California State Assembly. As a small business owner, her career in public service began when she worked for Royce as his director of community operations over 25 years ago.
Meanwhile, Cisneros is one of eight Latino candidates running in the more than 100 House races that Democrats have targeted for the 2018 midterms, NBC News reports.
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Although the district is traditionally conservative, polling results indicate that Cisneros might have the slightest of advantages. Ballotpedia's average of polls that have surveyed this race gives Cisneros a 2-point advantage.
Both the Cook Political Report and Real Clear Politics have the race listed as a toss-up.
Cisneros was a Republican until 2008 and now Republicans are accusing him of supporting "far-left policies that would give the government control of our healthcare and cause a $32 trillion tax hike."
After being elected to the state assembly, Kim supported pro-life efforts. She has earned the endorsement of the leading national pro-life lobbying organization Susan B. Anthony List. Cisneros is endorsed by Planned Parenthood.
