Republican Young Kim defeats Gil Cisneros in House race, flips California seat red

Republican Young Kim won her House race against Democratic Rep. Gil Cisneros on Friday, flipping the second House seat red in the 2020 congressional election for the state.

Kim won the 39th Congressional District in Orange County and will become one of the first Korean-American women elected to Congress alongside Washington state’s Marilyn Strickland and California’s Michelle Steel, according to the Associated Press.

"I want to congratulate Congressman Gil Cisneros on a hard-fought race," Kim said. "I want to thank him for his service to our country and to the 39th District."

Thank you #CA39! I look forward to serving you! pic.twitter.com/VURzL67v0Z
— Young Kim (@YoungKimCA) November 14, 2020

“I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me,” Cisneros said in a statement that also congratulated Kim, the Associated Press reported.

Steel was the first of the two Republicans to flip a California congressional seat on Tuesday when she defeated Democratic Rep. Harley Rouda.

Thanks to the incredible energy brought by our thousands of grassroots volunteers, I was proud to be the first Democrat ever to represent #CA48.
Serving the people here has been the honor of my life. https://t.co/up1YVZTnuU
— Harley Rouda (@HarleyRouda) November 10, 2020