Democrat George Whitesides ousts GOP Rep. Mike Garcia in California battleground district, CBS News projects
Democrat George Whitesides, the former chief executive of Virgin Galactic, has unseated incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Garcia to represent California's 27th Congressional District, CBS News projects.
Garcia conceded to Whitesides on Monday night. He announced it on his campaign's X account.
"I thank the people of CA-27 for allowing me to represent them during a tumultuous and critical period in our Nation's history," his post said. "I spoke with George Whitesides this evening to congratulate him, and I will ensure a smooth handoff of open constituent case work packages to him and his team."
District 27 is centered in northern Los Angeles County, and recent numbers show that Democrats have a significant voter registration advantage in the one-time conservative stronghold, which includes the cities of Lancaster, Palmdale and Santa Clarita. Forty-one percent of registered voters in the district are Democrats while 30% are Republicans, according to the California Secretary of State.
Pre-election polling from the University of Southern California, CSU Long Beach and Cal Poly Pomona shows Garcia, a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot, and Whitesides, a former NASA official, in a virtual tie.
"This is one of those districts that looks like it's winnable by either party," said Loyola Law School Professor Jessica Levinson, who specializes in election law.
The district's voting record has trended purple in recent years. Voters were split in 2022 in races for two of the state's top elective offices, choosing GOP state Sen. Brian Dahle over Democratic Gov. Gavin Gavin Newsom in the gubernatorial contest and Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat, over Republican Mark Meuser for U.S. Senate. That same year, Garcia was elected to represent the newly redrawn district in Congress over Democrat Christy Smith, a state Assembly member.
Who are Mike Garcia and George Whitesides?
Prior to redistricting for the 2022 election, Garcia represented the area as part of California's 25th Congressional District, where he was elected in a 2020 special election to succeed Democratic Rep. Katie Hill, who resigned her seat amid sexual misconduct allegations.
"My focus is not on Republicans versus Democrats," Garcia said. "It's not on left versus right. It's literally about the interest of the country, the security of the country."
Whitesides has ties to Washington, serving as chief of staff for NASA under the Obama administration. He also worked on President Obama's transition team and was Virgin Galactic's first chief executive officer.
"I am somebody who has actually created 700 jobs in the district during my time leading an aerospace company," Whitesides said. "I have a lot of experience in how we can support small business owners."
Whitesides also referenced his stances on issues on the national stage.
"If you care about reproductive freedom, if you care about immigration, if you care about social security, if you are about any of these issues that are important to the community, you need to vote for somebody who is going to represent your community," Whitesides said.
Garcia, who also worked for the defense contractor Raytheon, has touted his record on bringing business to the district, but also expressed that his "job is to prevent the country from turning into California"
"The people here are fantastic. The weather, the geography, the workforce, the businesses, the schools — all great," he said. "The problem is its prohibitive cost … It feels like every policy that comes out of Sacramento is meant to either crush the taxpayer or crash the business owner who pays for the jobs."