Republican Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., will win re-election in California's 27th Congressional District, defeating Democratic challenger Christy Smith, The Associated Press projects.
The GOP now has enough seats to capture the House, having reached the 218 majority threshold.
With control of the Senate now securely in Democratic hands, all eyes are on the House. Of the remaining 10 congressional seats in play, California has eight that are still too close to call.
Garcia was first sworn into office after a 2019 special election where he defeated Smith in their initial congressional matchup. The congressman focused his 2022 midterm messaging on economic issues, the southern border and national security.
"We're focused on getting out the votes and sticking to our message which is focused on security, above all things, whether its national security, border security, but above all things right now economic security," Garcia recently told Fox News' "The Next Revolution."
"This is what people care about, they don't care about the drama the left is imparting on each other right now. They care about the economy."
REP. MIKE GARCIA ON RUNNING IN BLUE CALIFORNIA
"The bottom line is people don't like when you lie to them. This administration and the far-left have been lying to the American voters," Garcia said, highlighting the Biden administrations handling of Afghanistan, the southern border, defunding the police, and inflation.
CALIFORNIA DEMOCRAT CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE SAYS REPUBLICAN REP. MIKE GARCIA OWES PELOSI ‘APOLOGY’
Garcia also highlighted a "blizzard of crises" in the past few months that have caused the American public to overlook Biden's rocky withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.
As Garcia widened his lead over the Democrat, Smith thanked those on her team and different groups who supported her campaign throughout the cycle, leading some followers to believe she was conceding the race.
The Democrat shot down claims that she was accepting defeat, noting that her tweet thread was "not a concession. We need to #Count EveryVote!"
