Katie Hill, who had been elected in 2018, had resigned on November 3, 2019[4] after reports of an inappropriate relationship with a campaign staffer and allegations of sexual relations with her congressional staff, as well as nude photos of her which were published without her consent.[5][6][7]Steve Knight, who had represented the district until 2019, ran in the primary but did not advance to the runoff.
By winning the special election, Garcia finished the remaining balance of Hill's term in the 116th Congress. A separate primary and general election on March 3, 2020, and on November 3, 2020, respectively, was held to determine the representative for the 117th Congress; Garcia narrowly defeated Smith in a rematch and again for a second full term in 2022.[8]
Buck McKeon (R) represented the district from 1993 until he retired in 2014. Steve Knight (R) then won over Tony Strickland (R) in the 2014 election and served until he was defeated by Katie Hill (D) in 2018 by 8.8 percentage points.
Hill resigned in October 2019 following a scandal in which she admitted to an "inappropriate relationship" with a campaign staffer and nude photos of her were published without her consent.[5]
On November 15, 2019, the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, issued a proclamation declaring a special election for the 25th Congressional District on May 12, 2020, with a primary on March 3, 2020.[9]
In recent presidential elections the district narrowly voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, while Hillary Clinton (D) won the district by 7 percentage points in 2016.[10]
Candidates
California uses a primary system in which all candidates run in a single primary regardless of political party.[11] In regular congressional elections, the top two vote getters in the primary advance to a runoff election regardless of party affiliation or vote tally. However, in the special election for the balance of Hill's term, had a candidate received more than 50% of the primary vote, they would have been automatically elected and the runoff election cancelled.[12]
On October 31, 2019, at least a dozen people had filed paperwork with the FEC to run for the seat.[4] According to the certified list of candidates signed by the Secretary of State of California on January 15, 2020, six Democrats and six Republicans had filed for the special election and would appear on the ballot.[13]
Democratic candidate Christopher Smith ended his campaign shortly after participating in the January 9 debate. While stopping short of a full endorsement, he stated, "among the remaining field, the progressive candidate with the best chance of winning is Cenk Uygur."[14]
The special election and the primary election for the regular general election for California's 25th congressional district was held on March 3, 2020. The normal primary election determined which two candidates would advance to the 2020 general election, while the special election was to determine who will finish the remainder of Hill's term. No candidate in the special election received more than 50% of the vote so the top two candidates advanced to a runoff to be held on May 12, 2020.
Several candidates were on the ballot in both elections on March 3, as these elections concern two different Congresses.[24]
Debates
On December 22, 2019, Democratic candidates Christopher Smith, Aníbal Valdéz-Ortega and Cenk Uygur called on Christy Smith, Robert Cooper III and Getro Elize to attend a primary debate "to be held tentatively at College of the Canyons on Thursday, January 9, 2020".[25][26][27]The Talk of Santa Clarita, an interview podcast within the district that hosted a Democratic debate during the 2018 election and has interviewed both Christy Smith and Cenk Uygur,[28] also volunteered to host a primary debate for the Democratic candidates on January 25, 2020.[29]
Uygur stated on January 4 that all of the Democratic candidates, with the notable exception of Christy Smith, will attend a debate in Palmdale (at Transplants Brewing Company) on January 9, 2020.[30][36] Despite receiving an offer by the other candidates to change the date of the debate to better accommodate her, Christy Smith's campaign has stated that her work in the State Assembly prevents her from attending the debate, which was set to be moderated by The Talk of Santa Clarita.[37] Christy Smith's campaign was given several opportunities to debate on different dates at different venues, including future debates unrelated to the Brewing Company debate, but her campaign also declined, with no reasons given.[38]
In December 2019, Uygur stated that his campaign did not accept endorsements from outside the 25th district[72] and requested that Bernie Sanders's[73] and Ro Khanna's endorsements be retracted. However, his campaign received verbal support from the following notable individuals:
Since no candidate in the March 3, 2020, special election received more than 50.0% of the vote, a runoff election between the top two finishers was held on May 12, 2020.[9]
↑ Valdez-Ortega, Aníbal (2020). "25th District Democratic Debate". valdezortegaforcongress.org. California: Valdez-Ortega for Congress. Retrieved January 7, 2020. Debate of the Democratic candidates for California's 25th Congressional District. Confirmed attendees: Aníbal Valdez-Ortega, Cenk Uygur, Christopher Smith, Getro Elize. [.../] January 9, 2020 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Transplants Brewing Company, 40242 La Quinta Ln, Unit 101, Palmdale, CA 93551[permanent dead link]
↑ Transplants Brewing Company (January 6, 2020). "Defend the 25th District!". transplantsbrewing.com. Palmdale, California. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020. Join us for the first CA-25 Democratic debate being held right here at Transplants this Thursday at 6:30PM! The following candidates have confirmed their attendance: Cenk Uygur[,] Anibal Valdez-Ortega[,] Christopher Smith for Congress[, &] Getro Elize for Congress[.] We expect a big turnout and media presence, come early and claim your seat!
↑ Rich, Aliyah (December 19, 2019). "LCV Action Fund Endorses Christy Smith For Congress - League of Conservation Voters". lcv.org. The League of Conservation Voters. Retrieved December 21, 2019. The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, which works to elect pro-environment candidates, announced today its endorsement of Christy Smith for election to Congress for California's 25th Congressional District. Smith is also endorsed by California League of Conservation Voters.
↑ "2020 Endorsements". plannedparenthoodaction.org. Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
1 2 Uygur, Cenk (December 15, 2019). "Jimmy Dore Interviews Cenk Uygur". The Jimmy Dore Show (Interview). Interviewed by Jimmy Dore. California. And it actually took a ton of courage for a presidential candidate [Bernie Sanders], at the most important time in his campaign, to back a guy like me knowing how much the establishment hates me and would attack me. It took a ton of courage to do that in the first place, and I asked him to take it back because I didn't want it to hurt his campaign.
1 2 3 Wu, Brianna (December 23, 2019). "Progressive Women Candidates for Congress, Media Leaders and Activists Write Open Letter of Support for Cenk Uygur". medium.com. Medium. Retrieved December 25, 2019. On every issue, from reproductive justice to equal pay — Mr. Uygur has demonstrated in the time since that he is on the side of American women. We believe people are defined by their actions as well as their words and we would invite Mr. Uygur's critics to look particularly at the strong intersectional work of The Young Turks under his leadership. [...] We believe these things speak to his integrity, and how he would conduct himself as a public servant if he's elected to serve the people of California in the House of Representatives.
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