GOP congressman who eked out victory in Biden district will join Electoral College objectors


Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) became the latest congressional Republican to announce he'll object to the Electoral College certification on Wednesday. Garcia said that while he's a "federalist, I do believe there is enough evidence of compromised processes and break downs in election integrity by certain state legislatures that do in fact warrant a closer examination."
At first glance, Garcia's decision to join his colleagues in challenging President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory isn't particularly noteworthy. There are more than 140 House Republicans who are on board, as well as a dozen known senators who plan on supporting them. But Garcia doesn't appear to fit the mold of a lawmaker attempting to satisfy a voter base "in deep red districts" calling for their representatives to do something about unfounded allegations of widespread voter fraud. Instead, Garcia narrowly eked out a narrow November victory in a district that Biden won by around 10 percent.
Theoretically, embracing this movement could mean Garcia is risking certain swing voters down the line, and his 2020 returns suggest he doesn't have a huge safety net.
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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.
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