Republican Mike Garcia wins Democrat Katie Hill's vacant House seat in special election

(Image credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

For the first time in nine years, Republicans have picked up a congressional seat previously held by a Democrat. Mike Garcia defeated his Democratic opponent, Christy Smith, in the race for California's 25th Congressional District seat, left vacant when former Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.) resigned last year after it was revealed she had an inappropriate relationship with a staffer.

Smith conceded Tuesday's election in a Facebook post Wednesday, but said she will now turn her attention to November's general election, where she plans to challenge Garcia again.

Garcia hasn't directly responded to Smith's concession yet, but earlier in the day, he said it was clear the results were in his favor, noting that he's "ready to go to work." Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.