Democrat Xochitl Torres Small is the apparent winner in New Mexico House race, boosting Dem majority

KEY POINTS

• Democrat Xochitl Torres Small is the apparent winner in New Mexico's 2nd District House race, according to NBC News. 
• That means Democrats have now flipped a net 38 GOP-held seats, expanding their majority in the Congress that starts in January. 

UNITED STATES - MARCH 14: Xochitl Torres, democratic candidate for New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District, is interviewed on March 14, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call Group | Getty Images

Democrat Xochitl Torres Small is the apparent winner of a hotly contested House race for New Mexico's 2nd House District, according to NBC News, defeating GOP candidate Yvette Herrell and flipping the previously Republican-held district blue.

Democrats targeted the seat as part of their push to gain control of the House in the next Congress that starts in January. The party has now picked up a net 38 seats with two races still undecided, according to NBC.

Torres Small was declared the apparent winner in the neck and neck race two weeks after Election Day. The district received millions in spending from outside groups, including more than $3 million spent against Republicans.

Torres Small, a water rights lawyer, ran on expanding access to health care and increasing funding for education, workers and veterans.

The district's Republican incumbent, Steve Pearce, lost the state's gubernatorial election against Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham.

While Democrat Hillary Clinton won New Mexico in the 2016 presidential contest, the lower half of the state covered in the 2nd District voted more for Trump.

Herrell described herself on her campaign website as "the only candidate who supported President Trump from Day 1 of his campaign" and aligned with the president on issues such as immigration, abortion and the Second Amendment.

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