Ami Bera, Doug Ose fight too close to call
First-term Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) and former Republican congressman Doug Ose of Sacramento are battling for a Northern California congressional seat.
The race was among the tightest House contests in the country as Republicans battle to take back a seat they had lost two years earlier, when Bera defeated then-Rep. Dan Lungren in the 7th Congressional District, in the Sacramento suburbs.
It was also costly. By the Oct. 15 end of the last campaign finance reporting period, Bera had spent almost $3.6 million to Ose’s $2.7 million. The final tab was expected to be much higher.
The major political parties and other groups also spent big in independent efforts on both sides, totaling more than $10 million.
Bera, a physician and son of immigrants from India, formerly worked for the UC Davis School of Medicine. He lost to Lungren in 2010 before winning the seat in 2012.
Ose served in Congress from 1999 to 2005. He was the top vote-getter in the four-way June primary, which included Bera and three Republicans.
Follow @jeanmerl for the latest in Southern California politics news.
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