Your guide to the California Congressional District 27 race: Mike Garcia vs. Christy Smith
(For anyone who doesn’t know, there is a congressional district 27 where Los Angeles County meets northern San Diego County. The new Congressional District 27 is where Garcia, the incumbent in the 8th District of California, is facing Smith, the Democrat who is hoping to unseat her at the 11th District in the upcoming election.)
So, the election has been a bit of a shambles for Garcia. He fell short by 7,000 votes in his June primary challenge and finished a distant third with more than 1.6 million votes, so he has only been able to keep the seat from going to the Republicans, who had a large registration advantage in the district.
But he’s had a number of troubles in the campaign so far. There is opposition from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and its media arm, KPFA, which has used its megaphone to challenge Garcia, and from Republicans, who have made him look like a political chump.
There is also a controversy about Garcia’s support of the controversial Measure H. Garcia had supported the controversial measure that would repeal Proposition 8 in California but has said he is undecided now on the controversial measure to legalize recreational marijuana. This measure does not appear on the ballot until November, but Garcia has said he might support a different legalization measure – one that would not seek to legalize cannabis – if necessary after voters decide Proposition 64.
Smith’s support of the bill to legalize recreational marijuana has created significant opposition from the progressive wing of the party.
The two candidates agree on a few things, including the need to tackle issues like climate change and the economy, but some of the progressive wing of the party are not ready to forgive Garcia for supporting a measure that would legalize recreational cannabis.
Garcia may have to walk a fine line in his campaign to avoid alienating his progressive supporters.
Smith, meanwhile, is playing defense