California Republican Rep. Mike Garcia cemented his place as the congressman for the 25th Congressional District after his opponent Democratic Assemblywoman Christy Smith conceded Monday night.
“After four weeks of canvassing, every vote has been counted. Both Los Angeles County and Ventura County have officially certified the race today and have declared me the victor,” Garcia said in a statement. “I am once again honored to represent CA-25 during this pivotal time in our country’s history.”
Nearly one month after election night, absentee ballots in counties around the district were counted, but Smith could not make up a 339-ballot deficit to beat Garcia.
“With final votes counted in this race, it’s clear we will not be able to close the 339-vote gap. This is not the end result we fought for, but I am proud of the grassroots campaign we ran,” Smith said in her concession statement.
Garcia and Smith previously faced off against one another in May, when Garcia won a special election against her by a 12-point margin to represent the district when the seat became vacant months earlier.
Garcia, the son of a Mexican immigrant, graduated from the United States Naval Academy after being nominated by then-Rep. Buck McKeon, a Republican who previously represented a version of the district. After winning the special election in November, Garcia became the first Republican to pick up a House seat in California since 1998.
Garcia flew combat missions in Iraq and later served as an executive on the board at Raytheon.
Smith, a California Department of Education official, worked her way through the department and won her state Assembly seat in 2018 against a Republican incumbent after raising $2 million.
The House seat was prematurely vacated by Rep. Katie Hill, a first-term Democrat, who resigned from office on Nov. 3 after nude photos of the congresswoman were posted on the web, along with stories detailing her relationship with a young female campaign staffer and an alleged relationship with a congressional staffer. Hill disputed the relationship with the congressional staffer.
The 25th District, which stretches across northern Los Angeles County and part of neighboring Ventura County, was a GOP stronghold for over 20 years, held largely by McKeon and for two terms thereafter by his Republican successor, Steve Knight.
Knight, though, lost to Hill, a first-time candidate, by a 7-point margin during the Democratic “blue wave” midterm elections in 2018.
