Mike Garcia (politician)

Michael Garcia (born April 24, 1976) is an American politician, businessman and former United States Navy pilot serving in the United States House of Representatives from California's 25th congressional district. Elected in a 2020 special election, Garcia is a member of the Republican Party.

This article is about the politician from California. For the politician from Colorado, see Michael Garcia (politician).
Mike Garcia
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 25th district
Assumed office
May 19, 2020
Preceded byKatie Hill
Personal details
Born
Michael Garcia

(1976-04-24) April 24, 1976
Santa Clarita, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Rebecca Garcia
Children2
Alma materUnited States Naval Academy (BS)
Georgetown University (MA)
WebsiteHouse website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1999–2009 (Active)
2009–2012 (Reserve)[1]
Battles/warsIraq War

Early life and education

Michael Garcia was born on April 24, 1976, in Santa Clarita, California, to parents who had immigrated from Mexico in 1959. In 1994, he graduated from Saugus High School and earned a Bachelor of Science in political science from the United States Naval Academy after being nominated by Representative Buck McKeon. In 1998, he earned a Master of Arts in national security policy studies from Georgetown University.[2][3]

Military

In May 1998, he joined the United States Navy and was sent to flight school at Naval Air Station Pensacola. He was deployed as a F/A-18 pilot from the USS Nimitz. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he participated in over thirty combat sorties before being honorably discharged.[4]

Civilian career

From 2009 to 2018, Garcia worked as a business development manager at Raytheon Intelligence & Space, one of four business segments of Raytheon Technologies.[5]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020
See also: 2020 California's 25th congressional district special election and 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in California
Mike Garcia's congressional campaign logo

During the 2018 House of Representative elections Katie Hill defeated incumbent Representative Steve Knight.[6] On April 10, 2019, Garcia announced that he would run in California's 25th congressional district against Hill in the 2020 House election. During his campaign announcement he stated that Hill was attempting to push a socialist agenda similar to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.[7] On October 27, Hill announced that she would resign from the House of Representatives due to a scandal involving her relationship with a campaign staffer, and resigned on November 3.[8] On November 15, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation ordering a special election to fill the vacancy caused by Hill's resignation.[9]

On March 3, 2020, Garcia placed second in the nonpartisan blanket primary ahead of former Representative Steve Knight and behind Christy Smith, a member of the California State Assembly. On April 8, he was endorsed by the Club for Growth and the Susan B. Anthony List on April 24.[10][11]

On May 12, Garcia defeated Smith in the special election. She officially conceded the next day, but affirmed her intention to run against Garcia in the November general election for a full term in Congress.[12] Garcia's victory marked the first time since 1998, when Doug Ose won in the 3rd congressional district, that a Republican flipped a California congressional district held by a Democrat.[13] He is also the first Hispanic Republican representative to serve from California since Romualdo Pacheco left office in 1883, after representing the 4th congressional district.[14]

Tenure

Garcia was sworn into office on May 19, 2020.[15]

Political positions

Garcia campaigned on strengthening the United States military and cutting taxes to improve the economy, specifically in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16][17] He also campaigned against the Democratic leadership in the California state government.[18]

Personal life

Garcia's wife, Rebecca Garcia, is an interior designer. They have two sons.[19]

Electoral history
2020 California's 25th congressional district special election[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Christy Smith 58,563 36.2%
Republican Mike Garcia 41,169 25.4%
Republican Steve Knight 27,799 17.2%
Democratic Cenk Uygur 10,609 6.6%
Democratic Aníbal Valdez-Ortega 7,368 4.6%
Republican Courtney Lackey 3,072 1.9%
Democratic Robert Cooper III 2,962 1.8%
Republican David Lozano 2,758 1.7%
Republican Daniel Mercuri 2,533 1.6%
Republican Kenneth Jenks 2,528 1.6%
Democratic Getro F. Elize 1,414 0.9%
Democratic David Rudnick 1,085 0.7%
Total votes 161,860 100%
2020 California's 25th congressional district special election runoff[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mike Garcia 95,088 54.9%
Democratic Christy Smith 78,234 45.1%
Total votes 173,322 100%
Republican gain from Democratic

See also

References
  1. "Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress - Retro Member details". bioguideretro.congress.gov.
  2. "Former fighter pilot Mike Garcia sets his sights on Congress". April 28, 2019. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020.
  3. "Mike Garcia's Biography". Archived from the original on May 19, 2020.
  4. "Mike Garcia's Biography". Archived from the original on May 20, 2020.
  5. Pocock, Chris. "Raytheon: Stealth Means More Than Low RCS". Aviation International News.
  6. "Democrat Katie Hill is the apparent winner in key California House race, will unseat GOP Rep. Steve Knight: NBC News". November 8, 2018. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020.
  7. "Republican fighter pilot to challenge freshman Dem in key California race". April 10, 2019. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020.
  8. "Rep. Katie Hill to resign amid allegations of inappropriate relationships with staffers". October 27, 2019. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020.
  9. "Governor Newsom Issues Proclamations Declaring Special Elections for 25th Congressional District and 28th Senate District". November 15, 2019. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020.
  10. "Club for Growth endorsement". April 8, 2020. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020.
  11. "SBA List Candidate Fund Endorses Mike Garcia for Congress in CA-25". April 24, 2020. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020.
  12. "GOP wins special election in California after Democrat concedes". May 13, 2020. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020.
  13. "House Races in California and Nebraska Test Mail-in Voting". May 13, 2020. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020.
  14. "Republican flips California congressional seat. What does that mean for November?". May 13, 2020. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020.
  15. Khalil, Joe (May 19, 2020). "Republican Mike Garcia sworn in as California's newest member of Congress". WHNT Channel 19. Huntsville, Alabama. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  16. "Mike Garcia". Ballotpedia. Middleton, Wisconsin: Lucy Burns Institute. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  17. Conant, Caitlin (May 12, 2020). "2020 Daily Trail Markers: Could Mike Garcia be the first Republican to flip a California House seat since 1998?". CBS News. New York, New York. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  18. Cillizza, Chris (May 11, 2020). "Republicans are on the verge of winning a House seat in 1 of the most Democratic states". CNN. Atlanta, Georgia. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  19. Blood, Michael (May 14, 2020). "Trump gets ally as ex-Navy pilot wins California House seat". Carolina Coast Online. Morehead City, North Carolina. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  20. "Final Official Election Results - Congressional District 25". March 3, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  21. "California Special Election Results: 25th Congressional District". New York Times. New York, New York. May 13, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Katie Hill		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 25th congressional district
2020-present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Greg Murphy		 United States Representatives by seniority
430th		 Succeeded by
Tom Tiffany
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