Californians are used to feeling like their votes don’t really matter in the national election. A Republican hasn’t won the state’s electoral votes since the 1980s, and Oakland-born Kamala Harris will likely win the state by an even wider margin than previous Democratic candidates. But this year, some Californians could cast some of the most decisive votes in the country.

Voters in six congressional districts across the Golden State could decide who controls the next session of the House of Representatives, which will begin Jan. 3. Five of the districts are currently held by Republicans and are considered toss-ups. A sixth race is for a seat held by Democrat Katie Porter, who’s not running for reelection. As Democrats only need to flip four House seats across the country to win back control of the House, winning the toss-up races and defending Porter’s seat are central to the party’s plan.

The six races range across the state, from the Central Valley to Southern California, and include significant Latino populations, as well as one district with America’s largest Vietnamese population. Both parties are spending big to win these races in the hopes of controlling Congress, making these some of the most expensive congressional races in the country.

With the Senate leaning toward Republican control and the presidential race a statistical dead heat, winning the House could be the Democrats’ last chance to stop Donald Trump from having complete control of the U.S. government were he to win. That has put a massive focus on these six House races. And it’s meant that, for at least some Californians, their vote could decide the country’s political future.

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California’s Central Valley, a purple area in a reliably blue state, is home to two of the battleground districts.

Both races feature rematches from 2022. In District 13, which stretches from Modesto to Coalinga, incumbent GOP Rep. John Duarte is facing off against Democrat Adam Gray, a former state senator who lost to Duarte two years ago by only 564 votes. Both Duarte and Gray are........

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