Rep. Ted Lieu held a wide lead over Republican Houston Brignano in the race for California's 36th Congressional District on Nov. 3, with early returns showing the incumbent Democrat capturing roughly 71% of the vote.

The Associated Press called the race in Lieu's favor shortly before 9 p.m., the Daily News reported. Lieu, a Democrat from Torrance seeking a seventh term, faced Brignano, a Republican technology executive.

The results remain unofficial. Tens of thousands of ballots had yet to be counted as of early Wednesday morning.

What the numbers show

NBC News, using data provided by the AP, showed Lieu at 70.7% and Brignano at 29.3%, with 209,542 total votes counted. NBC estimated 61.2% of expected votes were in, with roughly 133,000 remaining.

The Daily Breeze reported similar figures as of about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday: Lieu had about 71% and Brignano had 29%.

What this means for the South Bay

The 36th Congressional District stretches along the coast and includes Redondo Beach, Torrance, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Rancho Palos Verdes. The winner represents South Bay residents in Washington on issues including housing, transportation and public safety.

Polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. The Los Angeles County registrar's office released its first round of returns around 8:15 p.m., according to the Daily Breeze. That first batch comprised vote-by-mail ballots that arrived before Election Day.

Outstanding ballots still being tallied include mail ballots postmarked by Election Day but not yet received, as well as conditional ballots that need verification. Under California law, ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received up to seven days later must be counted, the Sacramento Bee reported.

What happens next

A new state law, Assembly Bill 5, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 3, 2025, requires election officials to finish counting most ballots within 13 days of the election, with exceptions for provisional ballots and those needing signature verification, the Sacramento Bee reported.

Election results are not official until certified. Local election officials have until Dec. 3 to certify their county's results. The California secretary of state then has until Dec. 11 to certify statewide results, according to the Daily News.

Residents can track updated returns at the Los Angeles County election results portal.