The Antelope Valley Times

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President Trump wades into 25th Congressional District race

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[L to R] President Donald Trump and candidates Mike Garcia and Christy Smith
LANCASTER – President Trump continued to weigh in Saturday on Tuesday’s special election to fill the 25th congressional seat formerly held by Katie Hill, and the candidates have taken notice.

The president tweeted his displeasure after county officials late Friday approved a request from Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris to install a voting center in Lancaster this weekend.

Gov. Gavin Newsom had earlier ordered that all voters in the 25th Congressional District must receive a vote-by-mail ballot in an effort to protect public health and safety during the coronavirus outbreak.

“Governor @GavinNewsom of California won’t let restaurants, beaches and stores open, but he installs a voting booth system in a highly Democrat area (supposed to be mail in ballots only) because our great candidate, @MikeGarcia2020, is winning by a lot. CA25  Rigged Election!” Trump tweeted Saturday.

Christy Smith, the Democratic candidate in the race, responded to Trump’s tweet with one of her own:

“This president doesn’t want a majority African American, Latino community to vote. Is this the official position of his chosen candidate @MikeGarcia2020? In CA we believe in expansive voting rights. We also believe in states’ rights. Why don’t you Mr. President?”

That tweet drew the following response from Torunn Sinclair, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

“Christy Smith should once again apologize to Mike Garcia and all minorities for her suggestion that they don*t have mailboxes to return the ballots Governor Newsom sent to them and every registered voter in the district,” Sinclair said.

Garcia himself tweeted the following late Friday:

“@ChristyforCA25 and her liberal Dem allies didn’t say anything for weeks even though the polling places were in full view of the public. Even after every voter received a ballot, they are desperate and trying to change the rules to steal an election. We can’t let them succeed!!”

Friday’s order from Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan announced that the vote center will be located at the Lancaster National Soccer Center at 43000 30th St. E. The center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday, six vote centers will be available to district voters from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All vote centers can be located at lavote.net.

Trump endorsed Garcia on April 20, tweeting that the Republican “will be a tremendous fighter for the U.S. and the State of California.”

“An Annapolis graduate, he served our Country as a highly decorated Navy Fighter Pilot and will be a great Congressman (#CA25),” Trump tweeted. “Loves our Military, and Vets…”

The president also tweeted, “Turn your Ballots in now and track them, watching for dishonesty. Report to Law Enforcement.”

Smith finished first in the March 3 primary with 36.1% of the vote while Garcia was second with 25.4%.

The 25th Congressional District includes portions of the Antelope Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, the northern San Fernando Valley, and eastern Ventura County.

Hill, who was in her first term, resigned following the release of salacious photos online and allegations of an extramarital affair with a staff member.

Previous related story: Trump tweets endorsement of 25th Congressional District candidate

38 comments for "President Trump wades into 25th Congressional District race"

  1. It beats another Republican robot marching in lockstep off a cliff. We already have enough of those and it hasn’t worked out very well. If you can support a President that grabs body parts, I can support Smith. Let’s face it, Republicans are the greatest when it comes to woman’s rights. They are busy right now trying to make sure employers don’t have to pay for contraception. Also, I don’t recall Smith giving Biden a pass. The man was Vice President. He’s been thoroughly vetted.

  2. Christy Smith needs to explain her u-turn on woman’s rights. She was adamant that Bret Kavennough be investigated thoroughly and spoke out against his being seated. But now wants Biden to get a pass? Not trustworthy!

  3. You gotta love how Rex totally screwed over Trump. The new voting site in East Lancaster was pure genius. Rex hasn’t done a thing for East Lancaster since he has been mayor. When the cameras are on, Rex has his nose up Trump’s butt, but when Rex is home he’s a loyal Democrat helping the far left. The stupid, stupid Lancaster Republicans keep supporting this phoney.

  5. I think everyone, including DJT, is missing the point here. The request for voting booths in Lancaster was made by Republican mayor R Rex Parris. Three months ago, Rex greeted 45 at LAX when the Great Pumpkin flew in for a fundraiser in Beverly Hills and Palm Springs Maybe the Orange Man forgot that happened. But what that DC Creamsicle needs to realize is that his own guy in the High Desert is the one who asked for voting booths.

    https://theavtimes.com/2020/02/19/trump-visits-los-angeles-area-greeted-by-lancaster-mayor/

    It’s not Newsom’s fault that His Rexellence asked for it. Newsom just honored the request.

    Stop being blinded by your one-sided politics, no matter what side you’re on. The important thing to do is READ the candidate’s statements, EVALUATE their history and experience, and be an INFORMED voter. Don’t let quasi-political pundits, TV talking heads, or your Great Aunt Fannie tell you how to vote. VOTE your informed conscience on Tuesday.

    • Glad someone else saw the funny situation as well.
      Is Rex secretly a Democrat?
      Has POTUS lost another marble?
      And since when is the AV highly Democrat? I would have thought with all the military, jails, defense manufacturing, etc that the AV leaned Republican.

  6. I would point out that all of the voting stations are east of the 14 freeway. The district does include West Palmdale and parts of West Lancaster.

    And if the answer is that people from the west side can drive to East Palmdale to vote, then why can’t the people from Lancaster drive to East Palmdale to vote?

    • Maybe they would have to drive around an Airport or something. Also, all the Post Offices are ONLY on the Westside, and I only know of ONE mailbox on the entire Eastside, and it’s hid in a back corner of a shopping center.

      • I live on the eastside and every community has centralized mailboxes in them. Mine is right down the street. I retrieve mail and mail correspondence when necessary. Your comment about the Eastside only having one mailbox is not accurate. For the record, we also have a post office here on the Eastside as well. Perhaps you should do a little research before disseminating inaccurate information to the public.

        • Community mailboxes are only accessible to to the nearby residents around it. Not if, but when, that box is crow bared open and destroyed, you will have to group fund its repair and that often never happens. Meanwhile you will have to pickup your mail at 10th St WEST.

          Maybe you could mention where this Eastside Post Office is.

          • The out going mail for community box set ups is open to any one. They walk up and slide their letter in the slot in the front of the box.

            Technically, the post office on Lancaster is east of the 14. Then there are a few private businesses like American Post and Parcel.

            But I think you are mostly correct, there are no USPS locations nor collection boxes in most places anymore. Just the community boxes, and the drop off boxes outside the USPS locations.

          • You can goggle it. Just put ” Palmdale, CA Post Offices” in the search engine and poof it’s there! I don’t know what you’re implying about a crowbar (two r’s in barred) and mailboxes, but it has nothing to do with this election. Maybe you can share what you know about mailboxes being destroyed?

  7. Prior to this Covid-19, I was pro Mike Garcia, after President Trump and the republican party’s disastrous handling of Covid-19, I am voting for Christy Smith. I am not fully on board the democrat bandwagon as of yet, but everyday Trump’s Tweets keeping pushing me more on board.

    • I respect that. I have some conservative leanings myself. I’m not a fan of criminal justice “reforms” that have led to an explosion of property crime. I’m not a fan of school discipline “reforms” pushed by the Obama administration and his Department of Education that turned our schools into lawless day cares by getting rid of suspensions. I’m a homeowner and appreciate lower taxes.

      That said, I’m voting Democrat across the board until Trump is out of office and the GOP purges its party of the the crazy pro-authoritative, anti-science undercurrents. If the GOP goes back to being a center-right party that is pro business and pro rule of law, then I’d gladly cast my vote for their candidates.

      • I agree about the Republicans in the 36th have been pro commie China and they no longer speak for me. New leadership needed you proud racists.

    • So you do support Gavin Newsom’s handling of the pandemic? Governors have a much more direct hand in state health issues, so I don’t not what the president or the republicans had to do with the “disastrous handling of Covid-19”, but I do know that this state is off the rails with its response. We go from a $20B surplus to a $53B deficit and Gavin just blames nail salons?

      I don’t see the link between the Democrats running this state into the ground and supporting Christy Smith for Congress.

      • Authority to shut down states was rightly delegated to the states as it should be in a federal system. However, the federal government could have been in a useful support role by throwing its vast resources to increase testing and tracing, which are the keys to safely reopening the economy. The federal government absolutely failed in that regard. Regarding Newsom, he’s done a solid job. California is on track for 4,600 deaths with a population of 40 million (https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america/california). Florida, with half our population, is on track for 4,000 deaths, and Texas is on track for 3,600, despite also having 10 million fewer people than California. This is despite California being one of the first areas of community spread. Florida and Texas had ample warning and their governors still managed to screw up. Also, California’s economy is a lot more diverse and better suited to weather the storm. You think Texas will be fine with the collapse in oil prices? Good bye fracking. In addition, California has an 18 billion dollar rainy day fund that will help fill in the gap. Contrary to what they say, Republicans are awful when it comes to fiscal responsibility. Keep in mind Trump was running trillion dollar deficits and was pressuring the Fed to drop interest rates last year, wasting some valuable monetary policy bullets that would have been useful in a real crisis.

        • Cynic, you go from saying the GOP has “crazy pro-authoritative” and upset that this federal administration “could have been in a useful support role” but were not. Are they pro-authoritative or are they not authoritative enough?

          Gavin Newsom is telling us what we can and cannot do on a daily basis:
          https://www.sfgate.com/news/editorspicks/article/California-outdoor-activities-allowed-stay-home-15238108.php

          We cannot go to the beach, but the state has posted a list that it will allow us do: canoeing (solo), gardening (not in groups), kite boarding and kite surfing and mediation.

          But the GOP is the ones with the “crazy pro-authoritative, anti-science undercurrents”. Yeahhh…

      • I applaud Governor Newsom’s handling of the pandemic. While he may not be perfect, he’s a hell of a lot better than that orange idiot sitting in the White House. It’s a pandemic and all states are suffering. At least Newsom had the decency to choose saving lives over capitalism. If orange idiot had taken this virus seriously early in the game, there would be no pandemic. Put the blame where it belongs. He was warned as early as Feb but chose to do nothing. All he did was praise the leader of China for the great job he was doing and his TRANSPARENCY. Now he’s blaming China, Obama, and anyone else he can accuse. The dude.s an idiot. Now the virus is spreading in the White House, yet the idiot still refuses to wear a mask. Now you want to blame Newsom? You folks are either idiots or just plain nuts. You need to stop watching Faux News. Have a nice day and Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there!

      • I support Newsom’s handling of the pandemic. I think he has done a great job under the circumstances and I commend him. Help from our Nation’s Capitol has been sluggish to downright hostile. California is the fifth-largest economy in the world. It this state is off the rails it has a lot of company due to the current pandemic. All states are suffering, yet we continue to subsidize a large portion of them. Unfortunately, the President has fumbled the ball. He was warned in Feb of an impending pandemic. He didn’t listen to the experts and when then pandemic hit, this country was unprepared. Calif was hit hard by this virus and I thank Newsom’s actions to keep us safe. I feel he has our best interest at heart. He may not be perfect, but compared to our leaders in Washington, he’s worthy of support. I am disappointed in our Republican leaders. Throughout this pandemic, most of them have remained silent. They are too busy looking out for their self-interest.

  8. IF you like your FREEDOM, vote CONSERVATIVE.. IF you like SOCIALISM, vote DEMOCRAT on Tuesday!!

    • Not so fast Magnelady. I don’t think you really understand what socialism really is. Not all socialism is bad. I don’t have children, yet my taxes help support the public schools. Surprise….that’s a form of socialism. It would be pretty expensive if you were personally responsible for the cost of educating your children. Say your house is on fire and you call the fire department. If the first thing they ask for is a credit card number, that’s capitalism. If the first thing they ask is your address, that’s a form of socialism. It would be pretty expensive if you personally had to pay them to put out your fire. We taxpayers all absorb the cost. As for voting conservative, I notice some conservative politicians (including the president) are willing to sacrifice the lives of senior citizens and people who are vulnerable to COVID-19 to open the economy. You do realize some of those senior citizens are war vets who fought for YOUR freedom. Perhaps you should stop with the talking points and educate yourself.

      • Once again, where is the link? “As for voting conservative, I notice some conservative politicians (including the president) are willing to sacrifice the lives of senior citizens and people who are vulnerable to COVID-19 to open the economy. ” New York State (not conservative) ordered sick elderly CoVid-19 patients to return to the nursing home. 54% of the CoVid-19 deaths in LA County were in nursing homes, even with an unused navy hospital ship in Longbeach. The local officials (from county to the state) are opening the economy, so I don’t see any link between Congress and the president and sacrificing lives of senior citizens.

        The extreme links you guys create in the name of partisanship are disgusting.

        • What the Republican politicians and the president said about sacrificing lives to open the economy is on tape. It’s documented. Unfortunately, facts don’t matter to some folks.

        • Loam, you really need to get away from the Faux News for a bit and start looking into reality. I’ve watched your posts with an odd mix of amusement and consternation and have determined that your name must be derived from what’s in between your ears. No, I’m not calling you stupid. I’m saying that the combination of building materials in your head have formed a hard substance that is difficult to penetrate with reality to get to the intelligence inside.

          The facts that Mike laid out are readily available in the recent news cycles – even on Fox. Your predictable demands for proof on things that are so prevalent on all forms of media is indicative of either a failure to pay attention to reality beyond the Fox & Trump Show or is an intentionally maintained ignorance of reality. My guess is going to be the latter.

      • I agree,again. Just to save me some time,I want to say that I agree with everything Mike has said so far. I can’t keep scrolling thru the comments to post so this one here,,,covers them all.

    • It amazes me to read some of the comments about being pro business and pro law. The republican party is the only party that is pro law. The democrats are more worried about getting criminals back on the street than keeping us safe. They are more worried about “illegal” immigrants than our own citizens. And the above story is obviously part of it they claimed they wanted mail in ballots because they wanted to make sure all people especially people of color could vote and now that their candidate is behind it would be racist if we did not allow in person voting because it would impact people of color. Let’s make up our mind it can’t be both ways.

      • Trump’s Department of Justice just dropped federal charges on a man who plead guilty to lying to the FBI! Think about that, Flynn admitted to his crime. Trump has ignored congressional subpoenas, something that was settled by the Supreme Court during Watergate. Trump declared a frivolous national emergency to get money for his wall, bypassing the constitutional powers of the purse that Congress has. The Republican party is not the party of the rule of law. The GOP needs to suffer a scathing electoral defeat in November and get back to the drawing board.

      • They wanted mail-in ballots because we are in the middle of a pandemic and they wanted to keep people safe. Voter suppression is not an issue in California. As a person of “color”, I’ve never encountered a problem voting in elections. If this were Mississippi or Alabama, you might have a point. Once again, the purpose of mail-in ballots is to keep up safe and virus free during a pandemic that is affecting the world. People of color have nothing to do with it.