Two days after the primary in California’s open 25th U.S. House District in Los Angeles County, Republicans at the district-wide and national level seemed to be chanting in unison: “Mike Can Win It!”
Mike is Mike Garcia, former U.S. Navy fighter pilot and defense contractor, who emerged Tuesday night with the Republican nomination Tuesday in the 25th District.
“It” is the special election for the seat of former Democratic Rep. Katie Hill, whose resignation last fall, after revelations about relationships with her staff, led to the special election May 12.
Under Golden State election laws, candidates appear on the same ballot regardless of party and the top two vote-getters — in this case, Democratic State Assemblywoman Christy Smith and Republican Garcia — meet in a run-off May 12 to fill the remainder of Hill’s term.
What caught so many off guard on Tuesday was that former Obama Administration official Smith had been expected to run away with first place. Instead, she drew a weak 33 percent of the vote, while first-time office-seeker Garcia rolled up an eyebrow-raising 28 percent.
Almost as dramatic was the third-place finish of former Republican Rep. Steve Knight with 18 percent. Knight, who was unseated in 2018 by Hill, is expected to weigh in behind Garcia for the May contest.
The race also featured the bleak bid of Cenk Uygur, creator of the progressive news outlet, The Young Turks. Uygur, an avid Bernie advocate, placed far behind Smith with a dismal 6.1 percent.
Coupling the vote totals of Garcia and Knight with those of minor GOP hopefuls (among them Trump '16 campaign adviser George Papadopolous), Republicans had nearly half the votes cast in the special election contest to fill the remainder of Hill's term and for the simultaneous primary for a full two-year term.
"We have here roughly one-third Republican voters, one-third Democratic, and one-third 'Decline to State' [Californian for 'independent']," Garcia told Newsmax after the vote, "And the 'DTS' voters got fed up with the Democrats and chose Republicans." He also pointed out that "I raised about $1.3 million for the race and that's about what she raised."
Garcia, who spoke to us between meetings of supporters, predicted he would win over Smith "because you have such a sharp contrast between us. I'm for cutting taxes and she never saw a tax bill she didn't like. She tried to kill charter schools in the legislature and I strongly support as options charter schools, private schools, and home schools. I support entrepreneurship and she voted for AB-5 to recategorized contractors as employees--again, carrying water for the unions."
On the incendiary issue of illegal immigration, Garcia, the son of a legal immigrant, supports building the border wall while his opponent "voted for sanctuary cities."
The GOP hopeful recalled how he met President Donald Trump for the first time during the recent presidential visit to Los Angeles. In his words, "I liked him, we spoke briefly, and the caricature of him created by the liberal media is just not true. And nothing whatsoever came out of the impeachment."
In California-25, politicians and pundits have a contest with sharp contrasts between two very different candidates, and a race sure to draw national attention.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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