Democrat George Whitesides, a former NASA chief of employees and a first-time candidate, will characterize northern Los Angeles County in Congress subsequent 12 months after defeating Republican Rep. Mike Garcia in one of many nation’s most fiercely contested Home races.
Garcia conceded defeat in an announcement launched Monday night.
“In Congress, you’ll be able to rely on me to struggle to create extra good native jobs, decrease on a regular basis prices, construct secure communities, defend Social Safety and Medicare, and defend reproductive freedom,” Whitesides stated in an announcement posted on social media.
Whitesides’ slim victory is a vibrant spot for Democrats amid a decisive rightward shift in American politics, with voters sending President-elect Donald Trump again to the White Home and Republicans seizing management of the U.S. Senate from Democrats. Republicans seem prone to retain management of the Home of Representatives, however that is still unclear and Democrats may have a long-shot path to taking energy.
“I’ll all the time search to serve this excellent nation in any capability and stay at her disposal for the upkeep of her splendor, the safety of her folks and the safety of her future,” Garcia stated in his assertion.
The race between Garcia and Whitesides to characterize California’s twenty seventh Congressional District had been thought-about a toss-up and was carefully watched throughout the nation as one in every of a number of swing districts that might assist decide which social gathering wins management of the Home.
The as soon as staunchly conservative district — which stretches from Santa Clarita to the Kern County line and consists of the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale — has change into extra favorable in recent times to Democrats, whose rising voter registration benefit made the thrice-elected Garcia one of the weak GOP incumbents within the nation.
Redistricting after the 2020 census made the district bluer by excising conservative Simi Valley. Simply over 41% of registered voters are Democrats, and about 30% are Republicans. Greater than a fifth are independents.
Garcia, a former Navy pilot and former government with protection contractor Raytheon, first gained his seat in a 2020 particular election after Katie Hill — a millennial Democrat who had unseated a Republican incumbent in 2018 — resigned amid a intercourse scandal.
Garcia retained his seat in two subsequent elections. In all three elections, he defeated the identical Democratic rival, former Assemblywoman Christy Smith.
Whitesides — the deep-pocketed former chief government of Mojave-based Virgin Galactic, who lent his marketing campaign greater than $1 million — had main backing from the Democratic Occasion, which didn’t rally as forcefully round Smith. The highest Democrat within the Home, Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries of New York, got here to the Antelope Valley final month to marketing campaign for Whitesides, an indication of the race’s significance to the nationwide social gathering.
Whitesides campaigned on reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, in addition to job creation and rising funding for legislation enforcement. He solid Garcia as a pro-Trump sycophant, emphasizing the congressman’s vote towards certifying the 2020 presidential election outcomes after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, and his push to overturn Roe vs. Wade.
As a first-time candidate, Whitesides had no voting file to scrutinize. So, Garcia targeted on his opponent’s a whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars} in donations to progressive candidates and causes, making an attempt to painting him as a far-left mega-donor utilizing his private wealth to attempt to purchase a congressional seat.
Garcia targeted closely on California’s excessive price of residing and gasoline — a potent message in a district the place many residents who’re drawn by cheaper housing commute two hours or extra to work in Los Angeles.
Garcia, the son of a Mexican immigrant who moved to the U.S. in 1959, additionally leaned into the GOP message of strengthening immigration enforcement alongside the southern border.
In a summer season city corridor in Santa Clarita, he stated his late father “got here right here legally” and “did it proper” and that unlawful immigration is without doubt one of the nation’s greatest threats. In Congress, he voted towards making a path to citizenship for so-called Dreamers who have been delivered to the U.S. as kids.