House Republicans won two special election victories on Tuesday night as they flipped a seat in California, which was vacated after Democrat Katie Hill got caught up in an affair with one of her campaign staffers. Tom Tiffany also won a special election Senate seat in Wisconsin by 14 points.
Mike Garcia, a former navy pilot, won the California post by a four-point margin with nearly 55 percent of the vote, becoming the first Republican to flip a blue House seat in California since 1998. Tom Tiffany, another Trump-backed Republican, won in Wisconsin with a 14-point margin.
California’s 25th district seat was vacated by Katie Hill last year amid an ethics investigations and it was won by Mike Garcia with President Trump’s endorsement, along with state Republican parties and the GOP committees 225 million dollar war-chest available thanks to the party’s new small-dollar donor portal, WinRed.
“These back to back special election victories are a testament to the enthusiasm and support voters have for President Trump and Republicans across the country. Our permanent, data-driven ground game is unmatched and this momentum will carry us to victory in November,” Mandi Merritt, RNC Press Secretary said in a statement following the wins.
These elections were a test as to how to handle elections in a time of a pandemic, as both were the first two elections to be held since the beginning of the pandemic and in-person campaigning was largely put on hold. A majority of the voting was done through mail-in ballots.
Some of Representatives Garcia’s principles include supporting term limits, protecting the U.S homeland first, and creating a business-friendly environment.
Wisconsin Republican Tom Tiffany also describes himself as a Conservative Republican on many of the issues. Representative Tiffany says he is for securing the southern border, reducing the national deficit, building a business-friendly environment, and being a staunch pro-life advocate who is for defunding Planned Parenthood’s access to taxpayer dollars.
While the Republicans should be satisfied by these wins, the GOP can’t get complacent on the national level.
