Following Katie Hill’s Resignation, Candidates Line Up To Take Her Seat In Special Election

Following the resignation of U.S. Representative Katie Hill from California, several candidates have announced that they will run in the special election for congressional seat in Washington.

Foremost among Republicans running for the seat is former U.S. Representative Steve Knight. Knight, who is also a former California state Assemblyman, was the U.S. Representative for California’s 25th District from 2015 to 2019. He lost his reelection bid in 2018 to Hill by 22,000 votes, 54.4% to 45.6%.

On Sunday he stopped short of a formal announcement on running again.

“Yes, I’m absolutely considering that,” said Knight. “Let’s say I’m more than considering that. An announcement will be made shortly.”

“We’re trying to get our ducks in a row and see what our support level is. It’s a very interesting situation and we need representation here. It looks like there’s going to be that special election, and we need to have a representative there so we can have our voice in Congress.”

Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Mark Cripe, former Naval Officer Mike Garcia, and Lancaster city Councilwoman Angela Underwood-Jacobs have also announced runs for the 25th District under the Republican ticket.

The leading candidate among announced Democrats is state Assemblywoman Christy Smith (D-Santa Clarita). In addition to her current position in the state Assembly, she had previously served on the board of the Newhall School district. During the 2018 election Smith defeated her Republican challenger, and former incumbent to the Assembly District, Dante Acosta by only 4,000 votes in a slim 51.2% to 48.8% victory.

“It’s been made clear to me that the people of the 25th Congressional District want and need a new voice to fight for them in Washington,” Assemblywoman Smith said Monday. “That’s why today I am proud to announce that I am running for Congress.”

“I would like to commend Congresswoman Katie Hill for her service on behalf of the 25th District as well as her willingness to put country first by stepping down from office.”

The only other Democratic challenger so far has been real estate investor David Rudnick.

With the special election being announced soon, and the 2020 election almost exactly a year away, the 25th congressional district faces two incoming critical elections. As both the congressional and State Assembly districts are now purple battleground districts, the upcoming elections have the potential to bring a lot of change — not only in California, but also the entire country.