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California’s long-suffering Republicans finally have something to celebrate.
Former Navy fighter pilot Mike Garcia captured a vacant seat in the United States House north of Los Angeles with the support of President Donald Trump. He had about 56 percent of the vote after an updated account on Wednesday (Thursday, New Zealand time).
The victory over Democratic Assemblywoman Christy Smith represents a rare victory for Republicans in California, strongly democratic. The last time the party claimed a Democratic seat was in 1998.
electmikegarcia.com
Mike Garcia, with the support of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, won the vacant position in California on May 13, 2020.
The race in District 25 was viewed nationally as an indirect vote on Trump’s leadership during the coronavirus crisis, as well as hints about the political climate heading toward the November election.
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“I am ready to go to work,” Republican Garcia said Wednesday. His Democratic rival, Smith, congratulated Garcia, calling him a “likely winner.”
However, he said he hoped to win in November, when the two meet again in a rematch for the House’s full two-year term beginning in January. “This is only one step in this process,” he said in a statement.
AP
Poll worker Kevin Myvette wears a mask while assisting voters during a special election for California’s 25th Congressional District.
Garcia, a political newcomer, had a 12-point lead over Smith in Tuesday’s 25th District special election. An unknown number of ballots went uncounted. The Los Angeles County, where most of them are located, was not expected to update its account until Friday.
California routinely has a large number of votes after Election Day, and mail ballots can run until Friday and can still be counted if they are postmarked before Election Day.
With a total of 143,000 ballots, almost all by mail, Garcia had 56 percent. All voters received mail-in ballots due to the coronavirus outbreak, although there were a number of polling places available for those who wanted to vote in person.
The contest gained enormous importance as the only competitive House race in the country in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. It is viewed nationally as a proxy vote over the leadership of President Donald Trump.
AP
Donald Trump lost the district to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
Trump, who lost the district that runs through a strip of suburbs and small ranches in 2016, urged voters to support Garcia, while former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and other high-profile Democrats backed Smith.
Early Wednesday, Trump tweeted: “Big win for California congress for Mike Garcia, picking up a seat for Democrats.”
The position became vacant last year after the resignation of Democratic Rep. Katie Hill, who stepped down after admitting to an affair with a campaign worker and the House opened an ethics investigation into an allegation that she was involved with a member of her congressional staff which Hill denied
Smith and Garcia led a field full of candidates in the March 3 state primaries and advanced to separate elections: one, Tuesday, to complete the remainder of Hill’s two-year term, and a second in November for the full term of two years. .
Garcia seemed to benefit from the enthusiasm among conservatives who saw a rare opportunity to take a Democratic seat in California. The last time it happened was in 1998.
Smith, meanwhile, tried to motivate Democrats to return to the polls just two months after the state’s presidential primaries, when the campaigns of Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and other candidates worked to generate voters, said Paul Mitchell of the firm. nonpartisan research Political Data Inc.
Smith “is not the sum of all those presidential candidates,” Mitchell said. “That is a challenge.”
A Garcia victory would set him as the starter for November and demonstrate that Republicans can compete in a district where Trump was defeated by Clinton in 2016. He lost the state by more than four million votes in 2016.
Two years ago, Democrats obtained seven seats in the Republican House in California, helping the party regain control of the chamber. The Republican Party (GOP) now has just six of the 53 seats in the California House of Representatives.
District 25 anchored in Los Angeles County, with a portion of Ventura County with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library at its western end, has a Democratic record lead and Hill captured the seat by 9 points in 2018.
But there were factors that helped Garcia’s chances.
Hill left under the stain of scandal, and in an expected low-turnout election, white Republicans tend to be among the state’s most trusted voters. The youngest registered voters in the state who favor liberals are known for not appearing frequently. Also, the district has a Republican pedigree – it was in the hands of the Republican Party for a long time before Hill’s upset in 2018.
Trump has been at the center of the race, calling support for Garcia while attacking Smith and his Democratic supporters. Last weekend, the president turned to Twitter to attack the decision to add an in-person voting center in Lancaster, a part of Los Angeles County with a large black population. “Elections rigged!” Trump wrote. However, it turned out that the decision was supported by the Republican mayor of Lancaster.
Most of the campaign was conducted online, without traditional protests and door knocks.
Garcia, a defense industry executive, described Smith as another vote for the Democratic status quo that he blames for increased homelessness, tight regulation, and increased taxes.
Smith was highly critical of Trump and his administration and promised to work to improve health care if elected.
Even if Garcia wins, November generally attracts a large Democratic turnout in California, particularly in the presidential election years, which would give Smith an advantage in the fall rematch.
With an ongoing national debate on voting by mail, the race will also serve as a window on how the process works, albeit on a small scale.
