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The only congressional district in Los Angeles County to be represented by a Republican is a natural focal point for Democrats who recognize control of the U.S. House is on the line. But on a recent Saturday morning in Palmdale with fewer than nine months until the midterm elections, only four Democrats showed up to talk to voters. One of them, who drove for over an hour from Sherman Oaks, was not even from the district.

The low turnout, organizers and volunteers say, is not unusual for the Antelope Valley, which includes the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster. Its a reflection of a community that is heavily commuter-based and hardly engaged in efforts to turn out the vote, even with the slight advantage Democrats have gained after redistricting the once-a-decade process of redrawing the lines of congressional districts.

There are people that want that change, but they have to be activated, Christian Green said while getting his canvassing materials ready at Transplants Brewery in Palmdale, where Democrats met before heading out to knock on doors that day. Green is a Lancaster native, college professor and political activist in the community.

Two women teamed up with Green to canvas in East Palmdale that morning. Its a majority-minority neighborhood where most people live in single-story homes and small apartment complexes. Its also located right off the 14 Freeway, which people use to commute from the high desert to Los Angeles. Heading southbound on the 14 from Palmdale, a billboard advertising the districts Rep. Mike Garcias reelection campaign with his signature red, white and blue Top Gun style logo was on display. The freeway also relates to one of the volunteers talking points when canvassing.

Im bringing information to voters this morning about our congressman Mike Garcia, Tiffany Countryman says after introducing herself at voters doorsteps. She is heavily involved in the political sphere of the district, including her role as vice president of the Democratic Club of the High Desert. Recently they had a vote to bring in money to our district for fixing the 14 [Freeway] and infrastructure, and he voted against it.

The message sometimes goes over voters heads.

So, is he good or bad? asked Gloria Ortiz, a registered Democrat who lives in an eight-unit complex in the area.

Hes bad, Countryman responded. We wanted to give you some information and say hes voted against money for our district. Shes referencing Bidens bipartisan infrastructure bill, which Garcia voted against along with 200 Republicans in his party last November.

Garcia is the target of Democrats early canvassing efforts. They are hoping to elect Democrat Christy Smith to represent the newly drawn 27th District, which no longer includes the more conservative Simi Valley.

Smith, a Santa Clarita native, served two terms on the Newhall School Board and represented Californias 38th Assembly District from 2018 until 2020, when she first ran for Congress. Smith and Garcia are likely to run against each other for a third time in Novembers general election, in what will be Smiths second attempt at flipping the competitive district.

The new 27th is a majority-white district stretching from west of Santa Clarita to the east part of a 12,000-person town called Lake Los Angeles. Californias Independent Redistricting Commission, which is now in charge of the states redistricting process, added more Democratic areas of the San Fernando Valley to make up for the population lost through Simi Valley. All of these changes, however, have only given Democrats a little over a two point advantage over Republicans, keeping the district nearly as competitive as it was in the last election.

Nico Padron, the DCCCs organizing director in CA-25, meets with activists after their day of canvassing in Palmdale (Photo by Cassie Esparza)

For the small group of canvassers hoping to oust Garcia, its worth spending their Saturdays knocking on doors this early in the race because theyve experienced the repercussions of not doing so for the 2020 election per the Democratic Partys COVID-19 restrictions. Countryman believes thats the reason Garcia prevailed by the 333 votes that earned him his first full term in Congress in a district that Biden won by more than 35,000 votes.

And even though the historically close race and a newly drawn district have not yet galvanized many Democrats to action, the ones on the ground are trying to make the most of the small advantage theyve gained in the redistricting process primarily because Simi Valley has been drawn out.

We know that Simi Valley interests are not the same as ours, Green said. This allows us to really home in on the Democrats that are here.

This sentiment was echoed long before the independent commission finalized the map that moved Simi Valley to the Democratic 26th District, represented by Rep. Julia Brownley. In a public comment forum sent to the commissioners who draw congressional and state legislative districts, eight people expressed support for Simi Valley to be drawn out of the 25th, with some suggesting it would fit better with the rest of Ventura County, where its been relocated.

Redistricting and the reapportionment forces some compromises and certain lines that kicks people out of a district they thought was a good district before, Maria Blanco said. Shes a civil rights lawyer who was a member of the first California Citizens Redistricting Commission, which redrew congressional maps back in 2011. I think theres no way to redistrict LA County going up toward Ventura without somebody being unhappy.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Simi Valleys median household income nears $100,000, with its poverty rates at less than 7%. The Antelope Valley has a median household income of just over $50,000 and a poverty rate of nearly 25%. Democrats who recently went canvassing thought this disparity alone was a reason to draw the area out of the district.

Theres just nothing in common economically, said Raquel Derfler, an Antelope Valley Democrat and political activist in the district. And then obviously, we are a majority minority [area], Simi Valley is majority white.

Simi Valley Republican Jenniffer Jones argues although there is a notable difference between the two areas, Simi Valley is not much different from Santa Clarita, which remains in the district.

We have a lot more in common with Santa Clarita than we did the other cities, but now were in the 26th, Jones said.

The long-time Simi Valley resident and stay-at-home mom has volunteered for Garcias campaign since he ran in the 2020 special election. She wishes the redistricting commissioners had kept Simi Valley in the new 27th.

Of course we wanted to be with Garcia, Jones said. But it is what it is.

Garcia has represented the 25th Congressional District since May 2020 when he won a special election against Smith to replace Katie Hill, who resigned less than a year into her first term following a scandal and allegations of inappropriate relationships in the workplace. Hill a Democrat flipped the district in 2018, ousting Republican Rep. Steve Knight who was elected in 2014. Before Knight, the seat was held by Republican Howard Buck McKeon for 22 years.

But even with the possibilities that come with a new district, people in the 27th are wary of how a member of Congress from either side could truly represent the interests of a community so divided.

Theres two separate worlds, Derfler said walking back into Transplants Brewery to return her canvassing materials. So then which constituents do you fight for in Congress?

Read the rest here:
There's one congressional Republican left in Los Angeles County. Meet the activists trying to give him the boot. - uscannenbergmedia.com