Your guide to California’s 27th Congressional District race: Garcia vs. Whitesides

In California’s 27th Congressional District, Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Santa Clarita) is facing off with Democrat George Whitesides, a former NASA chief of staff.

The hotly contested race will be crucial in determining which party controls the U.S. House.

Democrats hold a large registration advantage in the once staunchly conservative district. More than 40% of registered voters are Democrats; about 30% are Republicans. More than a fifth are unaffiliated with any party.

The Garcia campaign did not respond to questions for this guide. Answers are drawn from his legislative record and public statements.

Garcia 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.

Garcia, 48, is a former Navy pilot and former executive with the defense contractor Raytheon.

Whitesides, 50, is a first-time candidate and longtime Democratic donor. As NASA chief of staff under President Obama, he was responsible for implementing the agency administrator’s policy agenda. He is the former chief executive of Mojave-based Virgin Galactic and co-founder of Megafire Action, a nonprofit that seeks to end so-called megafires that burn 100,000 acres or more.

The northern Los Angeles County district stretches from Santa Clarita to the Kern County line. It includes the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, as well as rural desert towns such as Acton and Pearblossom.

Garcia was among the GOP congressional members in 2021 who signed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade. After that happened, he said abortion rights should be determined at the state level.

In 2021, he co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act, which would have amounted to a nationwide abortion ban with no exceptions. (Garcia later indicated he could support exceptions for rape, incest or threats to the woman’s health — a departure from the bill. He did not sponsor a reintroduced version.)

Whitesides supports writing into federal law abortion rights previously guaranteed by Roe vs. Wade.

Garcia’s late father was a Mexican immigrant who, Garcia has said, “came here legally” and “did it right.” The congressman has called illegal immigration one of the nation’s biggest security threats.

Garcia voted against creating a path to citizenship for so-called Dreamers, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. He said he wants to hire more Border Patrol agents and supports building a wall with video and infrared cameras to track people crossing the southern border.

Whitesides said he supports “securing our border with investments in advanced technology,” upgrading ports of entry, hiring more Border Patrol agents and immigration judges, and “building physical infrastructure where it makes sense.” The Whitesides campaign did not respond to questions about his position on Dreamers or others who entered the country illegally, but he said he opposes “open borders.”

Garcia voted against an assault weapons ban and against enhanced background checks for gun purchases.

Whitesides said that he supports comprehensive background checks and that he wants to “increase funding for local law enforcement so they can get more illegal guns off our streets and out of the hands of dangerous criminals.”

Garcia was one of 39 House Republicans in 2022 who joined all House Democrats in voting for the Respect for Marriage Act, which federally codifies same-sex and interracial marriage. He voted against the Equality Act, which would prohibit anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in employment, housing and other areas.

Garcia has criticized a new California law that prohibits schools from enacting policies that require teachers to notify parents about changes to a student’s gender identity — for example, if one asks to be called by a different name or pronoun.

Whitesides told The Times: “I do not think who you love should affect your fundamental rights as an American.” His campaign noted Garcia’s vote against the Equality Act but did not respond to questions about Whitesides’ position on it. His campaign also did not respond to questions about California policies on student gender identity.

This spring, Garcia voted in favor of the Israel Security Assistance Support Act, which rebuked the Biden administration for pausing an arms shipment to Israel to pressure it not to attack the Gaza city of Rafah. He also urged “expeditious delivery” of weapons and security services and reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself.

“When I say that my support for Israel is ‘ironclad,’ I mean it,” Garcia said in a statement.

Whitesides said he supports continued aid to Israel to defend itself and to bring back hostages captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack. “Hamas is a terrorist organization that needs to be dismantled. They cannot be permitted to govern in Gaza or maintain their military capabilities,” he told The Times.

He said that civilian casualties in Gaza must be reduced and that he would “support efforts to dismantle Hamas so that Israelis and Palestinians can negotiate a two-state solution and promote normalization between Israel and the rest of the region.”

Garcia voted against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election and against impeaching then-President Trump for his role in the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Whitesides has heavily criticized Garcia’s objection to the 2020 election results. He said the “peaceful transfer of power is one of the most sacred responsibilities of the U.S. Congress.”