FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - The balance of power in the United States House of Representatives could be determined by a handful of Central Valley congressional districts, including California's 13th Congressional District. Nationally, Republicans only hold a slim majority, and Democrats have narrowed in on this district as one to flip.  A mere 564 votes stood between Adam Gray and John Duarte during the 2022 midterm election for this exact same seat. It was a close race, that took weeks to determine who won. Ultimately, the now freshman congressman John Duarte ended up getting elected, and sworn in.  Now, two years later, there is a rematch to see who will represent California's vast 13th Congressional District, which contains parts of Fresno, Madera, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, as well as all of Merced County. It spans as far south as Coalinga, and up to Lathrop.  Gray, a Democrat, was born and raised in Merced. He says growing up, his family was in the agriculture and dairy business. He served for 10 years in the California State Assembly and says that experience will help him get things done in Congress.  "I've been a radical centrist my whole career. I actually believe people ought to work together. I don't believe you should put your party first. I think you should put your community first," Gray said.  Some of his top priorities include expanding access to healthcare, water, agriculture and education.  "When I was in the legislature, I helped pass with Governor Brown the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the bipartisan water bond to invest in our water infrastructure, invest in our roads, our public transit, improve communities and commerce and opportunity. I worked for ten years to get a medical school started at UC Merced," he said.  When it comes to the border and immigration, Gray said politics got in the way of solving issues and blames Republicans like Duarte, for stepping away from a bipartisan deal.  On inflation, Gray said government projects can make a difference.  "The cost of utility bills here in the Valley is extraordinarily high. And so the federal government has an opportunity to invest in more energy, including renewable energy. Right, which we're seeing increasing investments in every year. You can provide government funding for infrastructure to spur housing," he said. John Duarte, a Republican, who currently lives in Modesto, has run his own nursery business for years. He says that his experience of working with farmers and the business community has helped him understand issues impacting the valley.  "The policies coming out of Washington, D.C. and California, for that matter, are really crushing these working families, are crushing farmers there. They're destroying jobs here in our community. And I think I can speak to that," Duarte said.  He's currently serving his first term in the House of Representatives and says he has sponsored bills ranging from veterans' issues to water.  "We're working on water infrastructure projects that are going to bring treated surface water to the west side communities where they've been working on groundwater. Our groundwater on the west side of the valley in my district is unacceptable for human use," he said.  He says inflation is a huge issue, and getting people working and producing goods will help ease costs. On the border bill, he did oppose what was being proposed and said he voted no because of a specific clause, and not because of a partisan divide.  "Until we hook amnesty, DACA, getting people out of the shadows really put some pieces to it that make it a broader immigration compromise and reform bill, we're not going to go anywhere," Duarte said.  Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.