LOS ANGELES — Democrat George Whitesides, a former NASA chief of staff and a first-time candidate, will represent northern Los Angeles County in Congress next year after defeating Republican Rep. Mike Garcia in one of the nation’s most fiercely contested House races.

Garcia conceded defeat in a statement released Monday evening.

Whitesides’ narrow victory is a bright spot for Democrats amid a decisive rightward shift in American politics, with voters sending President-elect Donald Trump back to the White House and Republicans seizing control of the U.S. Senate from Democrats. Republicans appear likely to retain control of the House of Representatives, but that remains unclear and Democrats could have a long-shot path to taking power.

“I will always seek to serve this wonderful nation in any capacity and remain at her disposal for the maintenance of her splendor, the security of her people and the protection of her future,” Garcia said in his statement.

The race between Garcia and Whitesides to represent California’s 27th Congressional District had been considered a toss-up and was closely watched across the country as one of several swing districts that could help determine which party wins control of the House.

The once staunchly conservative district — which stretches from Santa Clarita to the Kern County line and includes the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale — has become more favorable in recent years to Democrats, whose growing voter registration advantage made the thrice-elected Garcia one of the most vulnerable GOP incumbents in the country.

Redistricting after the 2020 census made the district bluer by excising conservative Simi Valley. Just over 41% of registered voters are Democrats, and about 30% are Republicans. More than a fifth are independents.

Garcia, a former Navy pilot and former executive with defense contractor Raytheon, first won his seat in a 2020 special election after Katie Hill — a millennial Democrat who had unseated a Republican incumbent in 2018 — resigned amid a sex scandal.

Garcia retained his seat in two subsequent elections. In all three elections, he defeated the same Democratic rival, former Assemblywoman Christy Smith.

Whitesides — the deep-pocketed former chief executive of Mojave-based Virgin Galactic, who lent his campaign more than $1 million — had major backing from the Democratic Party, which did not rally as forcefully around Smith. The top Democrat in the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, came to the Antelope Valley last month to campaign for Whitesides, a sign of the race’s importance to the national party.

Whitesides campaigned on reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, as well as job creation and increasing funding for law enforcement. He cast Garcia as a pro-Trump sycophant, emphasizing the congressman’s vote against certifying the 2020 presidential election results after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, and his push to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

As a first-time candidate, Whitesides had no voting record to scrutinize. So, Garcia focused on his opponent’s hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to progressive candidates and causes, attempting to portray him as a far-left mega-donor using his personal wealth to try to buy a congressional seat.

Garcia focused heavily on California’s high cost of living and gasoline — a potent message in a commuter district where many residents are drawn by cheaper housing but commute two hours or more to work in Los Angeles.

Garcia, the son of a Mexican immigrant who moved to the U.S. in 1959, also leaned in to the GOP message of strengthening immigration enforcement along the Southern border.

In a summer town hall in Santa Clarita, he said his late father “came here legally” and “did it right” and that illegal immigration is one of the nation’s biggest threats. In Congress, he voted against creating a path to citizenship for so-called Dreamers who were brought to the U.S. as children.

_____

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.