California Assemblywoman Christy Smith, a Democrat, and Republican Mike Garcia, a former Navy fighter pilot, are expected to face each other in a May 12 runoff to decide who will represent California’s 25th congressional district until January 2021.
A couple of hours after the polls closed in California, they are the top two vote-getters in a crowded primary field to fill the remaining term of former Rep. Katie Hill (D).
The Los Angeles Times reported a few hours after the polls closed that Smith led the 13-person primary field with 30% of the votes, followed by Garcia at 26%
Hill, who represented parts of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties near the Santa Susana Field Laboratory cleanup site, resigned from Congress in November rather than face a House Ethics Committee investigation. Hill was publicly accused of having a sexual affair with a member of her staff, a violation of House rules.
Republican Stephen Knight, unseated by Hill in November 2018, garnered 21% of the Tuesday vote, according to the newspaper, leaving him out of the runoff.
The May special election will be the first of two face-offs between Smith and Garcia, as they will meet again in November for the right to represent the district for a full two-year term.
During her brief stay in Congress, Hill pushed for expedited cleanup of the 2,850-acre Santa Susana Field Laboratory cleanup site in Ventura County. The Energy Department, along with NASA and Boeing, are responsible for remediating the site, which was contaminated by decades of rocket testing and nuclear energy research.