There has been a lot of drama in California’s 25th district but the seat will remain in the GOP’s hands for the next two years. This is the seat that Democrat and throuple-enthusiast Katie Hill won in 2018. After she resigned from office last October a special election was held this May and Republican Mike Garcia won it, defeating Democrat Christy Smith by about 12 points. The 2020 election was essentially a rematch but this time the outcome was much, much closer. Last night Smith conceded the race to Garcia for the second time this year:

Democrat Christy Smith conceded Monday in a knife-edged loss to Republican rival Mike Garcia, who retained his Congressional seat in the 25th District north of Los Angeles.

“With final votes counted in this race, it’s clear we will not be able to close the 339-vote gap,” Smith said in a statement. “This is not the end result we fought for, but I am proud of the strong, grassroots campaign we ran.”

“We exhausted every possible option, and did everything within our power to ensure that every voice in this election was heard. Nonetheless, we came up short,” Smith said.

Rep. Garcia issued a statement saying in part, “It’s been a tough election, but the fight has been worth it.” This morning he appeared on Fox & Friends and said he hoped the U.S. as a whole could avoid some of what he has seen happen to California under Democratic control.

“I don’t want my country to become what California’s become and I do believe that especially in California we don’t have to hit rock bottom,” he said, adding, “the politicians of Sacramento have absolutely killed our state and I don’t want that to happen to our country.”

On that note, Garcia also predicted the GOP would take control of the House in two years. And even before that, he said he believed the Democrats’ narrow majority would mean Speaker Pelosi will have to negotiate:

Garcia said it’s been a “red recovery” and a “renaissance of conservative values,” saying the GOP is within “striking distance” of getting the House majority in 2022.

“This means that Nancy Pelosi, while she’ll be able to run the agenda on the floor, she won’t be actually running the floor. She’s going to have to negotiate in good faith,” he said. “There’ll be moderates from the left side of the aisle that will come to our side and break our way and we’ll actually be able to get meaningful legislation done.”

With Garcia holding on to his seat in CA-25, the GOP has won back four seats that it lost to Democrats in 2018. Young Kim won in CA-39. Michelle Steel won in CA-48 and David Valadao won in CA-21. Republicans are now at +11 in the House and could be +12 if Claudia Tenney holds on in New York’s 22nd district to a lead of just 13 votes.

Here’s Garcia’s appearance on Fox & Friends this morning:

https://youtu.be/y6282GvBaD0?t=557

Update: Finally:

BREAKING: Republican Mike Garcia wins reelection to U.S. House in California's 25th Congressional District. #APracecall at 12:48 p.m. PST. #Election2020 #CAelection https://t.co/lGfinjTqT4

— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) December 1, 2020