Former Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides on Wednesday became the first notable Democrat to announce a campaign against Republican Rep. Mike Garcia in California’s 27th Congressional District, a seat in northern Los Angeles County where plenty of voters still favor the GOP downballot. Biden would have carried this constituency, which is home to the communities of Santa Clarita, Lancaster, and Palmdale, 55-43 in 2020, but Garcia has proven to be a difficult opponent for Democrats.
Whitesides, who was NASA’s chief of staff before he joined billionaire Richard Branson’s commercial spaceflight company, entered the top-two primary with endorsements from three-time nominee Christy Smith, as well as local Assemblymembers Juan Carrillo and Pilar Schiavo. Politico’s Ally Mutnick adds that some Democrats attempted to recruit Whitesides for the 2020 special election to succeed freshman Democratic Rep. Katie Hill, who resigned after being victimized by revenge porn: Mutnick writes, “His aerospace credentials could play well in a big defense industry region.”
Then-Assemblywoman Smith ran instead but went on to badly lose that special to Garcia, an Air Force veteran who was waging his first campaign, in what was at the time numbered the 25th District. Garcia months later held Smith off by 333 votes as Biden was carrying the 25th by a 54-44 margin, and he voted months later to overturn Biden’s win hours after the Jan. 6 attack. Smith hoped this decision would doom him for 2022, especially after the new congressional map left him with a tougher seat, and she sought another try.
However, D.C. Democrats seemed to have little faith in Smith for her third bout despite her close call, and the DCCC and House Majority PAC barely spent anything here. That decision did not sit well with her, and she wrote after the election, “When it comes to paid comms on TV, digital, and mail, without D.C. help to define Garcia and elevate our positive agenda, we didn’t stand a chance. Especially, since Garcia largely hid from debates and mainstream media limiting our opportunity for earned media contrast.”
Garcia ended up prevailing 53-47 as statewide Democrats were struggling in this area: According to Bloomberg’s Greg Giroux, Sen. Alex Padilla carried the 27th only 51.5-48.5, while Gov. Gavin Newsom actually lost it 51-49. Whitesides, though, is hoping that the political climate will look far more like it did in 2020, and Garcia will once again need to win extensive crossover support to prevail.