In its first ad for the general election season, the campaign of politically vulnerable Santa Clarita Republican Rep. Mike Garcia has misleadingly described the congressman’s role in passing the Violence Against Women Act, which provides aid for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
30 second ad, An article titled “Voices” was released on Tuesday. It features an anonymous female voter who says: “Mike co-sponsored the Violence Against Women Act to protect us from domestic violence. That’s why we need Mike Garcia in Congress.”
Garcia also made the same claim of co-sponsorship Santa Clarita Town Hall At an event last month, he called his support “a big deal” because “not too many Republicans” had sponsored the reauthorization of the landmark 1994 law.
But In 2021, Garcia voted against A version of the reauthorization measure passed by the Democratic House majority joined conservatives who opposed provisions expanding protections for LGBTQ+ people and tightening gun access for those convicted of abusing or stalking a dating partner. Instead, Garcia co-sponsored a Republican-led stop-gap measure to renew the act for one year, barring the new provisions, which failed to advance.
He was not a co-sponsor of the revised reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which Democratic President Biden ultimately signed into law the following year as part of a broader federal spending measure. That is the version of the act that remains in effect today.
The Garcia campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Garcia’s Democratic opponent, George Whitesides, also released his first ad on Tuesday. 30 second TV spot, The book, titled “Experiences,” highlights Whitesides’ time as NASA’s chief of staff and chief executive officer of Mojave-based Virgin Galactic.
“I would rather use my business experience to solve problems than play politics,” Whitesides said in the ad.
The contest between Garcia and Whitesides to represent Congressional District 27 in northern Los Angeles County, including the Antelope Valley, is one of the most competitive — and important — contests in the country.
Erin Covey, an analyst at the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, said the race will be crucial in determining whether Republicans maintain their narrow majority in the U.S. House. Although Garcia has been elected three times, he represents a district where Democrats have a significant edge in voter registration, and which President Biden won by double digits in 2020.
“I think this is going to be a race to watch,” Covey said during a roundtable discussion at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last month. “It’s suburban. It’s diverse. It’s a race where (Vice President Kamala) Harris should really get a boost.”
George Whitesides, who is seeking to oust Garcia, is touting his past as NASA chief of staff and CEO of Virgin Galactic, saying he created hundreds of local jobs.
(Zoe Cranfill / Los Angeles Times)
Garcia and Whitesides’ new ads are the start of a larger ad campaign that will dominate Southern California airwaves until Election Day.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC that supports Republicans running for the House, has reserved $18.2 million for advertising This fall, the focus will be on the 27th District in the Los Angeles area.
The House majority PAC, which supports the Democrats, have booked Over $22.4 million Television and digital advertising in both English and Spanish in the Los Angeles media market, one of the most expensive media markets in the country.
The House majority PAC said last year that it spend $35 million in California, That’s nearly triple the amount spent on 2022 midterm campaigns in the Golden State, when Democrats performed poorly in some districts that were considered strongholds.
Garcia’s campaign’s new ad capitalizes on his military credentials. The congressman, a former Navy fighter pilot, flew more than 30 combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom before spending 11 years as an executive with defense contractor Raytheon.
“Although I’m no longer in the cockpit, my fight for you and my country will never stop,” he says in the ad, wearing a brown leather flight jacket.
The ad says its “new mission” includes lowering the cost of prescription drugs and “fighting career politicians” to reduce costs for families. The ad does not specify which costs.
Whitesides’ new ad says he created more than 700 jobs in the Antelope Valley and Santa Clarita while leading Virgin Galactic.
The jobs include engineers, technicians, accountants, human relations professionals and other positions, and are focused on early career development for recent high school and community college graduates, Whitesides said in an interview this week.
Whitesides, a first-time candidate, said his first ad focuses on job creation, since many of the district’s residents have long commutes to work in Los Angeles compared to living in the Antelope Valley, where housing is more affordable.
“People are eager for local job opportunities so they don’t have to spend four hours on the road,” Whitesides said.
In the ad, Whitesides also says people are struggling with crime and that he would “fund more police.”
Whitesides has come out in favour of Proposition 36, A statewide ballot measure that calls for harsher penalties for certain drug and theft offenses.
The measure, called the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Prevention Act, urges voters to Partially repealing Proposition 47, A controversial ballot initiative passed in 2014 that reclassified some nonviolent crimes as misdemeanors.
Proposition 36 is supported by the California Republican Party.
Democrats are divided on the measure. Mayors of some big cities, including San Francisco Mayor London Breed and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, have supported it. But Governor Gavin Newsom and some top Democratic leaders in the state Legislature have spoken out against it, charging that it would take California back to the tough-on-crime era that has seen the state’s prison population grow to unconstitutional levels.
Whitesides said he was “one of the few Democrats who came out in favor of the reform measure” because residents want a crackdown on looting incidents and are “concerned about public safety.”
At his town hall meeting last month, Garcia said he also supports more funding for law enforcement. He said Proposition 47 should be repealed and that state Democrats are pushing too many “pro-crime” policies.
Times staff writer Noah Bierman contributed to this report.
