It looks like Republican Mike Garcia is going to win former Democrat Katie Hill’s seat in California after she stepped down due to her naked ‘throuple’ photos being made public:
NY POST – Republicans appear poised to retake former Rep. Katie Hill’s vacated House seat, who stepped down last year amid intense media scrutiny over her “throuple” relationship with her now-estranged husband and a female staffer.
GOP House hopeful Mike Garcia has not yet declared victory in Tuesday’s special election but holds a double-digit lead over Democrat Christy Smith, who was endorsed by Hill, as of Wednesday morning. Garcia holds 56 percent of the vote to Smith’s 44 percent.
“While the night is early and there are still votes to be counted, we are confident our message of low taxes and not taking Sacramento dysfunction to Washington has resonated with the voters of California,” Garcia said in a statement regarding his considerable lead.
“This district has been without leadership for far too long, and the people here need a strong independent voice fighting for them in DC, especially during these challenging times,” he continued.
Should Garcia, a former Navy fighter pilot and defense contractor executive, maintain his steady lead over his Democratic competitor, the Congressional hopeful will have flipped the strongly blue House seat for the first time since 1998.
The race will likely not be called for several days at least, due to ballots still being mailed in that will be counted as late as Friday. Ballots will not be counted if they are postmarked as having been sent after Tuesday.
A 12 point lead is very significant and I suppose if it were any other state Garcia would have already declared victory.
Yesterday Trump put his weight behind Garcia, tweeting “Remember, get out and Vote for Mike Garcia in CA25. A really big deal for our Country.” It looks like it worked.
Of course it’s only one seat so it makes little difference now, but the political implications for November are huge. After all it’s been well over 20 years since that seat has been Republican. Let’s hope this truly is a sign of things to come in November and not just sheer disgust with Katie Hill and her throuple scandal.
UPDATE: Trump has responded to Garcia’s performance last night:
Big Congressional win in California for Mike Garcia, taking back a seat from the Democrats. This is the first time in many years that a California Dem seat has flipped back to a Republican. Also, Tom Tiffany beat his Democrat rival BIG in Wisconsin. Two great Congressional WINS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2020