LOS ANGELES — Republican Rep. Young Kim, who in 2020 was one of the first Korean American women elected to Congress, fended off a challenge from Democrat Joe Kerr, a retired fire captain, to secure a third term representing inland Orange County in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Associated Press called the race in California’s 40th Congressional District on Thursday, though official results will take longer. Control of the House remained too close to call.

Kim said in a statement Thursday night that she plans to “be an independent voice, bring common sense to Washington, and through bipartisanship, deliver results.”

“There is so much to do to get our country back on track, and I am ready to get back to Washington and continue to fight on behalf of my community,” she said.

The race for the 40th Congressional District, which covers some of the most conservative cities in Orange County and portions of Corona in Riverside County and Chino Hills in San Bernardino County, remained relatively under the radar for most of the election cycle.

In past years, congressional Democrats’ campaign arm included the district on their list of seats that could be flipped from red to blue.

But this year, the 40th Congressional District did not appear on Democrats’ roster and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report deemed it “likely Republican.”

Though President Biden won the district by a narrow margin in 2020, Republicans maintain a voter registration advantage of nearly 5 percentage points.

Kim, who was born in South Korea and lives in Anaheim Hills, served in the state Assembly and unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2018 before winning two years later. She focused her campaign on lowering taxes and the burden of rising costs on middle-class families, a time-tested message for Southern California conservatives that resonates with voters in the suburban district.

Kerr spent 34 years as a fire captain with the Orange County Fire Authority and served 17 years as president of the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association, a labor union that represents 800 firefighters. He ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in 2022 and for the Orange County Board of Supervisors in 2018.

Kerr could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday night.

Much of Kerr’s message centered on his time as a firefighter. In a recent advertisement, Kerr promised to help push for federal legislation that would provide firefighters with health care.

Kim raised $7.4 million for her campaign while Kerr amassed just under $800,000, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

_____

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.