The hotly contested congressional race between Republican Rep. Mike Garcia and Democrat George Whitesides, a former NASA chief of staff, to represent northern Los Angeles County was too close to call on election night.
The race between Garcia and Whitesides to represent California’s 27th Congressional District had been considered a toss-up and was closely watched across the country as one of several swing districts that could help determine 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 voter registration advantage made the thrice-elected Garcia one of the most vulnerable GOP incumbents in the country.
Redistricting after the 2020 census made the district bluer by excising conservative Simi Valley. Just over 41% of registered voters are Democrats, and about 30% are Republicans. More than a fifth are independents.
Garcia, a former Navy pilot and former executive with defense contractor Raytheon, first won his seat in a 2020 special election after Katie Hill — a millennial Democrat who had 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 chief executive of Mojave-based Virgin Galactic, who lent his campaign more than $1 million — had major backing from the Democratic Party, which did not rally as forcefully 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 heavily on reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, as well as job creation and increasing funding for law enforcement. He cast Garcia as a pro-Trump sycophant, emphasizing the congressman’s vote against certifying the 2020 presidential election results after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, 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, attempting to portray him as a far-left mega-donor using his personal wealth to try to buy a congressional seat.
In previous elections, Garcia’s focus on California’s high cost of living and gasoline was effective in the commuter district, where many residents drawn by cheaper housing commute two hours or more to work in Los Angeles.
