Whitesides captures LA County congressional seat in big win for Democrats

Democrat George Whitesides, a former NASA chief of staff and a first-time candidate, will represent northern Los Angeles County in Congress next year after defeating Republican Rep. Mike Garcia in one of the country’s most contested House races.

Garcia conceded defeat in a statement released Monday evening.

“In Congress, you can count on me to fight to create more good local jobs, lower everyday costs, build safe communities, protect Social Security and Medicare, and protect reproductive freedom,” Whitesides said in a statement posted on social media.

Whiteside’s narrow victory is a bright spot for Democrats amid a decisive shift to the right in US politics, with voters returning President-elect Donald Trump to the White House and Republicans wresting control of the US Senate from Democrats. Republicans appear to retain control of the House of Representatives, but that remains unclear, and Democrats may have a long way to go to take power.

“I will always seek to serve this wonderful nation in any capacity and remain at her disposal for the maintenance of her splendor, the safety of her people and the protection of her future,” Garcia said in his statement.

The race between Garcia and Whitesides to represent California’s 27th congressional district had been considered a showdown and was closely watched across the country as one of several swing districts that could help decide which party wins control of the House.

The once staunchly conservative district — which stretches from Santa Clarita to the Kern County line and includes the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale — has become more favorable in recent years to Democrats, whose growing advantage in voter registration made the three-time Garcia one of the most popular. vulnerable GOP incumbents in the country.

Redistricting after the 2020 census made the district more blue by removing conservative Simi Valley. Just over 41% of registered voters are Democrats and about 30% are Republicans. More than a fifth are independent.

Garcia, a former Navy pilot and former executive at defense contractor Raytheon, only won his seat in a 2020 special election after Katie Hill — a millennial Democrat who unseated a Republican incumbent in 2018 — resigned amid a sex scandal.

Garcia retained his seat in two subsequent elections. In all three elections, he defeated the same Democratic rival, former Assemblywoman Christy Smith.

Whitesides — the deep-pocketed former CEO of Mojave-based Virgin Galactic, who borrowed his campaign more than $1 million—had strong support from the Democratic Party, which did not rally as strongly around Smith. The top Democrat in the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, came to the Antelope Valley last month to campaign for Whitesides, a sign of the race’s importance to the national party.

Whitesides campaigned for reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, as well as job creation and increased funding for law enforcement. He called Garcia a pro-Trump sycophant and emphasized the congressman’s vote against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election after the January 6, 2021 uprising and his push to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

As a first-time candidate, Whitesides had no voting record to scrutinize. So Garcia focused on his opponent’s hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to progressive candidates and causes, trying to portray him as a far-left megadonor who used his personal wealth to try to buy a congressional seat.

Garcia focused heavily on California’s high cost of living and gasoline — a potent message in a district where many residents, attracted by cheaper housing, commute two hours or more to work in Los Angeles.

Garcia, the son of a Mexican immigrant who moved to the United States in 1959, also leaned into the GOP’s message of strengthening immigration enforcement along the southern border.

At a summer town hall in Santa Clarita, he said his late father “came here legally” and “did it right” and that illegal immigration is one of the country’s biggest threats. In Congress, he voted against creating a path to citizenship for so-called Dreamers who were brought to the United States as children.