Whitesides takes the LA County congressional seat in a landslide victory for Democrats

Democrat George Whitesides, a former NASA official and first-time candidate, will represent northern Los Angeles County in Congress next year after defeating Rep.

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 safer communities, protect Social Security and Medicare, and protect reproductive freedom,” Whitesides said in a statement posted on social media.

The victory of Whitesides is a bright opportunity for Democrats in the midst of a direct change in American politics, when voters sent President-elect Donald Trump back to the White House and Republicans took control of the US Senate from Democrats. Republicans look likely to retain control of the House of Representatives, but that is far from clear and Democrats may have a long way to go.

“I will always want to serve this great nation in any capacity and always have it to preserve its glory, the safety of its people and to protect its future,” Garcia said in his statement.

The race between Garcia and Whitesides to represent California’s 27th District was considered a toss-up and was being watched across the country as one of many swing districts that could help decide which party wins control of the House.

The once 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 voter registration advantage has made three-time incumbent Garcia one of the Democrats. vulnerable GOP incumbents in the country.

Redistricting after the 2020 census sweetened the district 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 CEO of contractor Raytheon, first won his seat in a 2020 special election after Katie Hill — a millennial Democrat who unseated a Republican in 2018 — resigned amid a sex scandal.

Garcia retained his seat in the next two elections. In all three elections, he defeated the same Democratic Alliance opponent, former MP Christy Smith.

Whitesides — the former chief executive of Mojave-based Virgin Galactic, which loaned his campaign more than $1 million — had the support of the Democratic Party, which did not align strongly with Smith. The top Democratic leader of the House, 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 team.

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

As a first-time candidate, Whitesides had no voting record to consider. Therefore, Garcia focused on his opponent’s hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to candidates and causes, trying to portray him as a major donor to the left using his wealth to try to buy a congressional seat.

Garcia focused on California’s high cost of living and gas — a powerful message in an area where many residents attracted to cheap housing commute two hours or more to work in Los Angeles.

Garcia, the son of a Mexican immigrant who immigrated to the US in 1959, also leaned on the GOP’s mandate to tighten immigration laws 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 nation’s greatest threats. In Congress, he voted against creating a path to citizenship for those called Dreamers who were brought to the US as children.