Katie Hill Unseats Rep. Steve Knight In LA's 25th

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles County Congressman Steve Knight Wednesday conceded defeat to challenger Katie Hill, whose underdog victory was one of few midterm upsets.

Hill, a Democrat and former nonprofit executive, never led in the polls, and her victory in the 25th District ensures that no Republican represents any part of the city of Los Angeles in Congress. In fact, with Knight's defeat, there is only one elected Republican from LA County left in Congress. Republican Kim Young appears to have won the 39th District, which represents Orange County and small swath of the San Gabriel Valley, according to preliminary tallies.

"This is absolutely incredible," Hill told cheering supporters Tuesday night as votes were still being tallied. "... We're at a moment in history ... where Americans are standing up, where young people are standing up, where women are standing up. And we're regular people who say it is not OK for us to have a political system that only represents the wealthiest people in our country and big corporations ... and it leaves the rest of us behind."

Hill's campaign motivated younger voters and Independants, and demographics in the increasingly Democratic community appear to be shifting in her favor. She also had some star-power help to get out the vote in the final days of the election as actress Kristen Bell canvassed with her. At 31, Hill will enter Congress as one of its youngest members.

The district that stretches into Ventura County is historically Republican, but 25th District voters went for Clinton in the presidential race two years ago.

The race remained tight throughout the vote-counting process, but when final figures were released Wednesday, Hill wound up with a roughly 4,000- vote edge, and Knight called Hill to concede the race.

Knight is an Army veteran and former Los Angeles police officer who supported the Trump tax cuts and efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Hill is a former executive for a homeless-services nonprofit agency, and she has expressed support for improvements in security on the U.S.-Mexico border and additional middle-class tax cuts

Democrats succeeded Tuesday in winning back a majority in the House of Representatives, and they claimed victory Wednesday in at least two closely watched Southern California congressional races, while holding a narrow edge in a third.

City News Service and Patch Staffer contributed to this report. Photo: - NOVEMBER 06: Democratic Congressional candidate Katie Hill waves to supporters at her election night party in California's 25th Congressional district on November 6, 2018 in Santa Clarita, California. Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Knight is competing against Hill for his seat in the district in a very close race. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)