TJ Cox widens lead over Rep. David Valadao in Dist. 21 race, now 529 votes ahead

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) has fallen further behind in his quest to keep his seat in the House of Representatives, with Democrat challenger TJ Cox picking up more votes.[br /][br /]Today new vote counts were released in Fresno and Kings counties giving Cox a 529 vote margin over Valadao.[br /] [br /]In Fresno County, new numbers were released around 2 pm on Wednesday, showing Cox gained an additional 23 votes.[br /][br /]The Kings County numbers were released around noon Wednesday, and while the votes in the area have strongly favored Valadao, Cox gained an additional 70 votes on Wednesday.[br /][br /][img SRC="[br /]https://cdns.abclocal.go.com/content/kfsn/images/cms/cd-21.JPG" ALIGN="" /][br /][br /]At around 1:30 pm on Wednesday, TJ Cox declared himself the winner in the race, thanking Rep. Valadao for his, "Six years of service to our country and the communities of the 21st District."[br /][br /]Action News has not yet declared a winner in this race.[br /][br /]Valadao, who was seeking his 4th term in Congress, has not yet made a statement on the results.[br /][br /][b]RELATED: [url HREF="https://abc30.com/politics/democrats-sue-fresno-county-to-see-whose-votes-got-rejected/4775416/" TARGET="" REL=""]Democrats sue Fresno County to see whose votes got rejected[/url][/b][br /][br /]Fresno County Elections officials say they have completed processing and counting all eligible ballots from the November midterm election. Officials are now doing a manual audit of the vote and expect to officially certify the election on December 3.[br /][br /]County elections officials have until December 7 to submit their final vote totals and certify the election.