CA-44 too close to call

The race for the 44th Congressional District between eight-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona) and Democratic challenger Bill Hedrick is still too close to call as of late Thursday morning.

With thousands of ballots yet to be counted in Riverside and Orange counties, Calvert is leading Hedrick by 4,640 votes.

There are about 350,000 registered voters in the 44th district. In Riverside County, where more than 77 percent of the district's voters reside, Hedrick was leading Calvert by 5 percent.

Ryan Sandoval, Hedrick's campaign manager, estimates that there are at least 45,000 mail-in ballots that have yet to be counted in Riverside County alone.

"Anything that was dropped off at the county registrar's office between Saturday and Tuesday night has yet to be counted," Sandoval said.

The Orange County Registrar's office has counted 44,870 votes so far in the 44th, about 57 percent of the total registered voters from the county. Among those voters, Calvert is leading Hedrick 63 percent to 37 percent.

Hedrick, a former teacher who serves as president of the Rialto Education Association, just wants to make sure every vote is counted.

"Our goal is to not have a Florida in Riverside county," Hedrick said. "We want every vote counted. We don't have any indication that they will not be counted, but we will have people observing the process in both counties. I'm sure that there will be ballots contested if it draws closer."

Hedrick, who calls himself "a patient and persistent person," has no problem waiting a few more days, if not weeks, to hear the final tally.

"This campaign was not a sprint. It's been a long race, 18 months, and we certainly can afford to wait 2 or 3 weeks to have results that we're confident in," Hedrick said. "We were repeatedly told that this is a race that was not competitive and it was not doable. I think we have proven that this region is competitive."

Calvert's campaign could not be reached for comment.