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Whitesides takes back California's 27th Congressional District for Democrats in pivotal race
George Whitesides has won the House seat representing California's 27th Congressional District.
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Courtesy of the Whitesides campaign
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Democrat George Whitesides has defeated Republican Rep. Mike Garcia to represent California’s 27th Congressional District, one of several swing districts that could determine which party wins control of the House of Representatives.
Garcia conceded Monday evening. The latest vote tally shows Whitesides with 51.2% of the vote to Garcia’s 48.8%. The district includes Santa Clarita, Palmdale and Lancaster.
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In a statement on the social media platform X, Whitesides called the win the honor of a lifetime.
“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,” he wrote.
Garcia said in a statement that he was proud of his time representing the district in Congress in what he called a "critical period" in the nation's history.
"I will always seek to serve this wonderful nation in any capacity and remain at her disposal for the maintenance of her splendor, the security of her people and the protection of her future," he wrote.
About the winner
Whitesides is a one-time NASA chief of staff and former CEO of Virgin Galactic, a space tourism company headquartered in Mojave. He served on former president Barack Obama’s transition team in 2008 and is chairman of the board of Megafire Action, a group that works to enact policies like prescribed burns to eliminate large wildfires.
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Whitesides’ win is significant not only because he defeated the incumbent — Garcia, a U.S. Navy veteran who worked for defense giant Raytheon,was elected three times — but the seat is widely considered to be one of the most competitive in the country.
In 2020, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden beat former president Donald Trump in the district by more than 12 percentage points.
Two years later, Garcia beat his Democratic challenger Christy Smith by eight percentage points, helping the GOP gain control of the House of Representatives.
“Congress isn’t doing enough to help people in our part of California, and Congressman Garcia has become part of the problem,” Whitesides said in a statement last year when he announced his candidacy.
He criticized Garcia for voting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and for his support of “taking away a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions.”
Garcia co-sponsored a bill that would impose a national ban on abortion.
A day after the election last week, Garcia held a slight lead over Whitesides, but by Monday the tables had turned.
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Whitesides out-fundraised Garcia in the race with more than $9 million to the incumbent’s just under $6 million, including monetary and non-monetary contributions.
About the district
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CalMatters
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Voter registration: 40.7% Democratic, 30.1% Republican, 21.5% no party preference
LAist Civics and Democracy Correspondent Frank Stoltze contributed to this report.
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