He has 1,400 hours of operational flight time in a an F-18 as a 20-year U.S. Navy fighter pilot with combat time in the Middle East. Now an executive with Raytheon, Mike Garcia has some 24 hours until a potentially life-changing experience in the political arena begins.
He is running for Congress as the Republican nominee in the 25th District of California. The special election pitting Mr. Garcia against California State Democratic Assemblywoman Christy Smith is Tuesday.
President Trump has endorsed Mr. Garcia, who now says he hopes to lead “a red shockwave” across the country by retaking the California seat for Republicans.
“If not me, who?” Mr. Garcia asks in his campaign message, noting that national security, term limits and pushing back on socialist agenda are among his primary issues.
“I think people are realizing just how far this Democrat Party has gone, and the fact that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is the moderate in the room should scare the heck out of the entire country,” the candidate told Breitbart News.
“There’s definitely a renaissance here in California. The implications of this in California are significant as well because it will be the first congressional seat we claw back in California for a Republican in 22 years. It’s not just a state thing, it’s not just a local thing, but it’s also a national level fight. All eyes are on this,” Mr. Garcia says.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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