Wrapping up one of the more contentious races during his 20-year tenure in the House of Representatives, Howard “Buck” McKeon beat Democratic challenger Lee Rogers with 55.2 percent of the vote in the 25th Congressional District race.

“When you’re given the honor of being elected, it makes you feel good, and what the people are saying, I think, is that they like the job you’re doing, and they want to keep supporting you,” McKeon said Tuesday amid well-wishers at his Hyatt Regency Valencia election party.

“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “But now it means you have to go out and do the things you said you were going to do.”

The race was a little bit closer for the 10-term incumbent, and reverses the trend of his last two races. McKeon’s last two wins were over Democrat Jackie Conaway. McKeon captured 57.7 percent of the vote in 2008 and 61.8 percent in 2010.

Early on Tuesday evening, McKeon took an initial lead with mail-in ballots, but Rogers, a Simi Valley podiatrist, remained optimistic while awaiting results with his supporters at Salt Creek Grille in Valencia.

“I’m never over-confident, but what I think is that it’s going to be really close, and I’m going to wait for more of the results to come in before I gain any more confidence than that,” Rogers said at about 9 p.m. after getting off to a slow start.

With all precincts tallied, McKeon received 98,090 votes, while Rogers had 79,597. The totals will increase slightly on both sides when late absentee and provisional ballots are counted.

McKeon issued the following statement Wednesday:

“It is an honor to have been given the opportunity to continue representing the great 25th District of California.  I look forward to tackling the tough issues facing our communities and our nation, and working to make the voters of the 25th District proud.  Elections remind us of the common stake we as neighbors and Americans have in our future and the great possibilities that democracy provides us.  Now, more than ever, we must come together to find real, common-sense solutions to our problems.  I am committed to fighting for the 25th District with principled dedication to our great American values.”