Garcia won his first House race in a special election in 2020 after the seat was vacated by Rep. Katie Hill, a Democrat. He beat then-Assemblymember Christy Smith, a Democrat, in the spring 2020 race, and then he defeated her again in two subsequent races.

Democrat George Whitesides is projected to defeat two-term Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.), according to Decision Desk HQ. Whitesides, the former Virgin Galactic CEO who also served as NASA chief of staff during the Obama administration,

Calif., conceded his race to Democratic challenger George Whitesides on Tuesday as the final House races across the country start to get called. Despite Garcia's concession, the Associated Press has yet to call the race for Whitesides.