Former California Democrat Rep. Katie Hill admitted she “cried for a few days” after Republican Mike Garcia won last week’s election to take the seat she left in 2019, following a scandal involving her relationship with an aide.
“So yeah it really hurt to have my old seat flip back to Republican-for a ton of people & also for me. In fact, it was pretty f–king devastating,” Hill wrote on Twitter. “I went offline & cried for a few days but, as always, getting ready to stand back up & keep fighting. Hope you are too.”
Garcia, a former Navy pilot, flipped the congressional seat for California’s 25th district red for the first time since 1998. Trump lost the district by six points in 2016, but Garcia held a 12-point lead over Democrat Christy Smith, a state assemblywoman.
Trump went out of his way to promote Garcia in recent weeks as strong on guns and immigration, and some Democrats had hoped the president’s support would be a liability in the race. Former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other high-profile Democrats all lined up behind Smith.
Hill left the seat vacant when she resigned last year after admitting to an affair with a campaign worker and the House opened an ethics probe into an allegation that she was involved with a member of her congressional staff. Hill admitted to an “inappropriate” relationship with the staffer before she took office in 2018 but denied any romantic affair, something that would have violated House rules, and has apologized to constituents.
Two years ago, Democrats picked up seven Republican House seats in California, helping the party retake control of the chamber. The GOP now holds just six of California’s 53 House seats.
The 25th District anchored in Los Angeles County, with a slice of Ventura County with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on its western end, has a Democratic registration edge and Hill captured the seat by 9 points in 2018.
Fox News’ Gregg Re contributed to this report.