Rep. Jerry McNerney called his 1,685 vote lead against Republican challenger David Harmer "insurmountable" during a press conference in Dublin on Thursday afternoon. 

At the conference, jubilant supporters joined McNerney as he once again announced he has won a third term in the 11th Congressional District. 

"The votes are in, the results are clear," he said. "Voters in this district have chosen me to be the congressman for the next session."

The news briefing occurred despite the fact McNerney's Republican opponent, David Harmer, has not conceded.

At midday Thursday, the Secretary of State's website has the Democratic congressman ahead by 1,685 votes. But, there are more than 100,000 mail-in and provisional ballots to be counted in the four counties the district covers. It's not known how many of those ballots are from the congressional district.

McNerney said the majority of those yet-to-be-counted ballots are provisional and the trend in votes is too much for his opponent to overcome.

When asked by reporters how he was able to buck the nationwide trend of congressional seats going to the Republicans, McNerney said it was because of his work in the district.

"I spent the last four years developing relationships, working with the people in this community," he said. "It's important to me, it's important to the district and I understand the needs [here]."

McNerney's vote total now stands at 110,385 compared with Harmer's 108,700 ballots. American Independent Party candidate David Christensen has 11,818 votes.

Harmer, a San Ramon attorney, released a statement Thursday saying there still are "many votes" to be processed. Harmer said he didn't declare victory on election night when he was several thousand votes ahead because he felt it was too early to do so. 

"That is still the case," Harmer stated. "Just as it would have been premature to claim victory (on election night), it would be premature to concede defeat now."

Harmer's campaign said it is working to ensure every legitimate vote is counted.

As ballots continue to be counted, McNerney said his campaign also is focused on monitoring votes. 

"It's very important to make sure there's transparency that every voter that cast a vote has his or her vote counted," he said. "I agree completely with my opponent on that issue."

If McNerney is named the winner, he will head back to Washington, D.C., with  a Congress in which Republicans are the majority. 

McNerney vowed to focus on the economy and job creation within the district. 

"It's going to be difficult," he said. "It's going to be important to me to work on a bipartisan basis, which I'm prepared to do and I think that's the most practical thing that will help our community."