Smith files to run for CA-25 seat in 2022
Assemblywoman Christy Smith, D-Santa Clarita, has filed paperwork to run in California’s 25th Congressional District in 2022.
Her statement of candidacy was submitted on Nov. 20, joining dozens of others who have already filed to run in various state congressional districts in the election two years from now, according to the Federal Election Commission’s website.
“It’s been an honor and privilege to serve this community for over 11 years,” Smith said Friday in a prepared statement. “I look forward to future opportunities to serve and continue to deliver results. This was such a close election, and having earned over 36,000 more votes than any prior Democrat in CA-25, I’m keeping all options open. I appreciate the outpouring of community support encouraging me to run again.”
Smith’s run would come after she conceded Nov. 30 in one of the state’s closest contests, ending with a gap in votes of just more than 300, according to certified election results from Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Results, which the state will certify on Dec. 11, showed that Garcia had pulled in 169,638 votes, or 50.05% and Smith had received 169,305 (49.95%) — a difference that had drawn closer from a gap of 405 the previous week to 333 votes.
Garcia, who had declared victory the same day Smith had filed, complimented the assemblywoman for running a campaign “with grace.”
“A tip of the hat to Christy Smith, who ran an excellent and aggressive campaign. Running in these elections is difficult, and she did it with grace,” he said in his prepared statement.
The district’s 2020 election, including a special election, saw more than a dozen contenders following the resignation of former Democratic Rep. Katie Hill last year. She won in 2018 against former Republican Rep. Steve Knight, ultimately flipping the longstanding red district blue that year. Garcia secured the GOP comeback despite a razor-thin race. It is not yet known how redistricting will look and how many congressional seats California could have in 2022.