George Whitesides says Congressman Mike Garcia is 'too extreme' for CA-27 congressional district

It's one of the most competitive congressional races in the country: Republican incumbent Mike Garcia up against Democrat George Whitesides. The 27th district in northern Los Angeles County includes the Santa Clarita Valley, Lancaster and Palmdale, a purple district that's no stranger to close contests.

"We right now have a congressman who is extreme, who voted against women's bodily autonomy when he co-sponsored the national abortion ban. He's also somebody who supported budgets that would cut social security, privatize Medicare. This is somebody who doesn't represent out values which (are) very family oriented, focused on supporting the law enforcement community," said Whitesides.

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Eyewitness News has tried for weeks to interview Congressman Mike Garcia for this story, but his campaign never returned our requests. We even went to a campaign address that turned out to be P.O. box inside a Valencia UPS Store.

This is what California Republican party chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson had to say about the race:

"In 2024, it's going to be another battle. We are not only responsible for holding onto the House majority, but we have the opportunity here in California to grow the House majority for Republicans. George Whitesides is playing the same playbook that Democrats all over the country want to play, and that's talk about abortion so they don't have to talk about the Democrat party's record when it comes to the way we're living our everyday lives," said Millan Patterson.

Garcia is a former Navy pilot and also worked at the defense contractor Raytheon. It's a district with a large aerospace industry. This is Whitesides' first time running for office, and his background is in the aerospace industry, running the company Virgin Galactic and also serving as NASA's chief of staff under President Barack Obama. Both political parties believe winning the seat is key to controlling the House of Representatives, and so far, Whitesides has outraised Garcia $9.3 million to $6 million. But the national parties and independent expenditures have poured millions into this race, close to $12 million for Garcia and $10.6 million for Whitesides. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries campaigned for Whitesides in the Antelope Valley earlier this month.

"Are you ready to elect George Whitesides and flip the majority," Jeffries said to the crowd.

The 27th congressional district is the only Republican held district that includes parts of L.A. County. The final day of voting in this race is Tuesday, Election Day.