Fareed tweets concession, support for Carbajal as 24th District race winds down

With Democrat Salud Carbajal’s lead in the 24th Congressional District race considered a safe bet, Republican Justin Fareed took to Twitter on Wednesday to thank supporters and concede a likely defeat.

Fareed, who previously said he would not concede despite consistently trailing in the results since Election Day, tweeted, “Based on the current vote count trending, it appears Salud Carbajal will be our new US Representative.”

He continued, “For the good of our community & country, it’s important we support him & push him to serve us well in Congress.” He added, “May God guide him and bless our community and the United States of America.”

Carbajal has earned 53.3 percent of the vote, compared with Fareed’s 46.7 percent, according to the California Secretary of State’s office.

Final results are expected Dec. 6.

As of Wednesday, Carbajal garnered 157,083 votes in the 24th District, which covers all of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, as well as part of Ventura County.

Fareed has earned 137,819 votes, though he bested Carbajal among San Luis Obispo County voters.

The concession appears to have ended one of the most bitter and expensive races in the country.

The results as of Wednesday were similar to early returns from election night Nov. 8, when Carbajal held 53.8 percent of the vote.

Carbajal already has taken part in orientation sessions for new members of Congress.

This story was originally published November 23, 2016 at 10:46 PM with the headline "Fareed tweets concession, support for Carbajal as 24th District race winds down."