Lungren, Bera 7th Congressional District Race Still Too Close To Call

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - The polls closed three nights ago, but the Dan Lungren and Ami Bera race, one of the most expensive congressional races in the country, is still too close to call, even with more votes counted Friday.

The federal government has sent official observers to the Sacramento Registrar Office to monitor the vote counting.

The campaigns combined raised giant sums of cash: $13.7 million between campaign contributions and outside spending. But only a small gap stands between the votes cast for Lungren and Bera.

The numbers show Bera with the slight lead, which has widened since election night.

Bera's camp is confident they'll win.

"We expect the margin of our victory to increase," campaign manager Josh Wolf said.

Lungren's camp also remains confident.

"We still feel good," said campaign manager Jeff Wyly.

There is still less than a percentage point difference between the totals -- 1,779 votes and no exact day known for a declared winner.

"A lot of us are our hoping before Thanksgiving, but the reality is it could take a little bit longer," said Wolf.

"It's hard on both sides because everyone sees Tuesday, Nov. 6, as the end date; and it's not just the workers, the staff, it's the families," said Wyly.

Now the politics seem to be pushed aside. Each side has volunteers focusing on the ballot processing, and singling out suspect signatures.

The candidates have already been in the spotlight, and now every single vote is getting attention.

There are about 70,000 votes that still need to be processed, and the next update is expected Tuesday.