Garcia defeats Smith, retains seat
His win helps GOP gain House control
Republican Rep. Mike Garcia won re-election for the Antelope Valley’s new 27th Congressional District.
The win ensures the GOP has the 218 seats needed to take control of the House, in January, for the 118th Congress, the Associated Press reported, Wednesday.
“It will be an honor for me to represent you in the majority,” Garcia said in a written statement released after the news networks called the 27th in his favor. “I look forward to delivering all forms of security for our district and our nation, whether you voted for me or not.”
The results are unofficial until all ballots are counted and certified.
“We are all part of one glorious team called the United States,” Garcia’s statement continued. “I will work as hard as I can every single day to serve you and get our country back on track.”
He defeated Democrat Christy Smith, a former state lawmaker, for the third time. Garcia beat Smith by 333 votes, in November 2020. He also beat her in a May 2020 special election.
That election was held to elect a candidate to complete the term of former Democratic Rep. Katie Hill. She defeated former Republican Rep. Steve Knight in the 2018 Blue Wave that gave Democrats control of the House.
Redistricting after the 2020 census changed the district boundaries, putting it entirely within Los Angeles County. Voter registration in the new district leaned Democratic, with 41.74% of 441,737 registered voters, compared to 29.24% for Republicans. But that was not enough to help Smith.
In a lengthy Twitter thread, on Sunday, she said her cam
paign lacked the necessary resources to successfully challenge Garcia.
“They made huge investments that unfortunately weren’t matched by our side in terms of spending, nor strategy,” Smith tweeted.
She collected approximately $3.5 million in total campaign contributions through Oct. 19. That figure included approximately $2.15 million in itemized individual contributions. She received about $10,351 from Democratic Party clubs between July 21 and Sept. 29.
Garcia collected more than $6 million in contributions, including about $3.27 million in itemized individual contributions through Oct. 19.
After the raced was called for Garcia, on Wednesday, Smith posted a statement on her Twitter account thanking her supporters and campaign volunteers.
“While the results are not as we’d hoped, our team is grateful to every donor and every volunteer who was part of #TeamChristy,” the statement said.
“There is so much more work to be done to reach voters here who no longer see the value of their vote.”