McNerney Declares Congressional Victory Over Harmer

DUBLIN (CBS SF) - In Northern California's 11th Congressional District, two-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney declared victory Wednesday night after widening what his campaign called an "insurmountable lead" over San Ramon attorney David Harmer, the Republican challenger.

McNerney led Harmer by 1,681 votes, according to the secretary of state's office on Wednesday.

"Congressman Jerry McNerney has won re-election in California's 11th Congressional District," said Doug Greven, McNerney's campaign manager. "With the vast majority of votes tallied, the results are clear. Congressman McNerney now has an insurmountable lead."

Roughly 189,000 ballots still remained to be counted in San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

But in a statistical analysis sent to reporters by Greven, he maintained there was no likelihood that Harmer could overcome his current vote deficit.

The Harmer campaign did not immediately react and the Associated Press had yet to project a winner in the hotly contested race.

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