Christy Smith (politician)

Christy Smith (née Fisher; born May 15, 1969)[1] is an American politician serving as the California State Assemblywoman for the 38th district since 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, her district encompasses Agua Dulce, Castaic, Simi Valley, the far northern portion of the San Fernando Valley, as well as most of the Santa Clarita Valley.

Christy Smith
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 38th district
Assumed office
December 3, 2018
Preceded byDante Acosta
Personal details
Born
Christy Fisher

(1969-05-15) May 15, 1969
Würzburg, West Germany
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Phil Smith
Children2
EducationCollege of the Canyons
University of California, Los Angeles (BA)
WebsiteGovernment website

On October 28, 2019, Smith announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in the 2020 California's 25th congressional district special election.[2] She became the Democratic nominee for the seat and was defeated by Mike Garcia on May 12, 2020.[3] In another election on November 3, 2020, she will once again face Garcia for a full congressional term.[4]

Early life and career

Smith was born in a U.S. Army hospital in 1969 in Würzburg, West Germany (now Germany). Her parents returned to the United States when she was six months old,[5] settling in Fortville, Indiana, where her father, Jerry, found work at RCA Records.[1][6] They later moved to Terre Haute before finally settling down in the Santa Clarita Valley in 1979.[6] The eldest of three children, she graduated from William S. Hart High School in Santa Clarita and attended College of the Canyons.[7][6] She received her Bachelor of Arts in political science from University of California, Los Angeles in 1993.[8][9][10] Smith then worked for the United States Department of Education as a policy analyst during the Clinton administration.[6] She has served two terms on the board of the Newhall School District.[11]

California State Assembly
Main article: 2018 California State Assembly election

In 2016, Smith ran in California's 38th State Assembly district.[9] The seat was open after Republican incumbent Scott Wilk decided to run for state senate.[12] Although she led the candidate field in the open primary in June, she eventually lost to incumbent Republican Dante Acosta, 52.87% to 47.13%, in the November general election.

In 2018, she ran again for the 38th district against Acosta and won 51.2% to Acosta's 48.8%.[13][14][15]

She currently chairs the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management.[16]

2020 California's 25th congressional district elections
Further information: 2020 California's 25th congressional district special election and 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in California § District 25

On October 28, 2019, one day after Katie Hill announced her intent to resign from Congress, Smith announced her bid to fill Hill's vacated congressional seat. Her State Assembly district covers more than half of the congressional district.[17]

Hill endorsed Smith as her successor, telling HuffPost that Smith was considered "the mom of Democratic politics" in the district well before the historically Republican area became friendlier to Democrats. "There's no one else that I could even think of that I would want to run for this," Hill added.[18] Smith picked up endorsements from the Los Angeles Times, Indivisible, and prominent Democratic figures such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, and Governor Gavin Newsom.[4] The Los Angeles Times editorial board wrote, "Smith is a centrist, pragmatic Democrat who in just a year in the Legislature has distinguished herself as an elected official more interested in pushing good policy than playing politics, something we’d like to see more often in Congress. We recommend that voters choose her on March 3, and that they do so twice."[4][19][20][21][22]

Smith's eleven opponents in the March 3, 2020, primary election included former U.S. Representative Steve Knight, progressive political commentator Cenk Uygur, and foreign policy adviser for Donald Trump's 2016 campaign George Papadopoulos.[23][24][25] In December 2019, EMILY's List endorsed Smith,[26] as did the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee the following month.[27]

Smith declined to attend a Democratic primary debate held on January 9, 2020, in Palmdale, California, citing her legislative duties in the State Assembly.[28]

On March 3, 2020, a primary for the special election was held to fill the remainder of Hill's term at the same time that a primary election for the 117th United States Congress took place. Smith finished first in both elections. On May 12, 2020, a runoff was conducted to fill the remainder of Hill's term, which she lost to Republican Mike Garcia,[3] a former U.S. Navy pilot. In another election on November 3, 2020, she will face Garcia once again, this time for a full two-year congressional term.[4]

Electoral history

California State Assembly

2016
2016 California State Assembly election, 38th district
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Christy Smith 44,755 44.7
Republican Dante Acosta (incumbent) 36,236 36.2
Republican Tyler Izen 10,998 11.0
Republican Jarrod R. Degonia 8,215 8.2
Total votes 100,204 100.0
General election
Republican Dante Acosta (incumbent) 102,977 52.9
Democratic Christy Smith 91,801 47.1
Total votes 194,778 100.0
Republican hold

2018
2018 California State Assembly election, 38th district
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dante Acosta (incumbent) 49,825 53.6
Democratic Christy Smith 43,050 46.4
Total votes 92,875 100.0
General election
Democratic Christy Smith 89,468 51.2
Republican Dante Acosta (incumbent) 85,417 48.8
Democratic gain from Republican

U.S. House of Representatives

2020 special
2020 U.S. House of Representatives special election, California's 25th congressional district[29]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Christy Smith 58,563 36.2
Republican Mike Garcia 41,169 25.4
Republican Steve Knight 27,799 17.2
Democratic Cenk Uygur 10,609 6.6
Democratic Aníbal Valdez-Ortega 7,368 4.6
Republican Courtney Lackey 3,072 1.9
Democratic Robert Cooper III 2,962 1.8
Republican David Lozano 2,758 1.7
Republican Daniel Mercuri 2,533 1.6
Republican Kenneth Jenks 2,528 1.6
Democratic Getro F. Elize 1,414 0.9
Democratic David Rudnick 1,085 0.7
Total votes 161,860 100%
General election
Republican Mike Garcia 95,088 54.9%
Democratic Christy Smith 78,234 45.1%
Republican gain from Democratic

2020 general
2020 U.S. House of Representatives election, California's 25th congressional district[30]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Christy Smith 49,679 31.7
Republican Mike Garcia 37,381 23.9
Republican Steve Knight 29,645 18.9
Democratic Cenk Uygur 9,246 5.9
Democratic Getro Franck Elize 6,317 4.0
Republican David Lozano 6,272 4.0
Democratic Anibal Valdéz-Ortega 4,920 3.1
Democratic Robert Cooper III 4,474 2.9
Republican George Papadopoulos 2,749 1.8
No party preference Otis Lee Cooper 2,183 1.4
Democratic Christopher C. Smith (withdrawn) 2,089 1.3
Republican Daniel Mercuri 913 0.6
Republican Kenneth Jenks 682 0.4
Total votes 156,550 100.0
General election
Republican Mike Garcia (incumbent)
Democratic Christy Smith
Total votes 100.0

Personal life

Smith lives in Santa Clarita, California, with her husband Phil, and their two daughters.[7][31]

References
  1. "Jerry Wayne Fisher obituary". Crown Hill Funeral Home & Cemetery. July 23, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  2. Klar, Rebecca (October 28, 2019). "California state lawmaker Christy Smith launches bid for Katie Hill's seat". The Hill. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  3. Itkowitz, Colby (May 15, 2020). "Republican Mike Garcia wins Democratic-held House seat in California in a boost for GOP". Washington Post. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  4. Macias, Martin (February 13, 2020). "Voters Set for Turbulent Primary in California's 25th Congressional District". Courthouse News. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  5. Smith, Christy (September 22, 2017). "Christy Smith: Time to hear what Dreamers have to say". Retrieved November 21, 2018 – via Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
  6. Buttleman, Michelle (August 25, 2019). "Assemblywoman Christy Smith is passionate about public safety, education". Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  7. "Christy Smith for Assembly 2018 - Meet Christy". Christy Smith for Assembly 2018 - Home. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  8. Martinez, Christian (May 28, 2018). "Assembly District 38: Competition high for seat that represents Simi Valley". Ventura County Star. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  9. Holt, Jim (January 3, 2016). "Christy Smith announces run for Assembly seat". Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  10. "Christy Smith: Media Release" (PDF). August 1, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  11. Signal staff (May 14, 2016). "38th Assembly District candidate profiles". Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  12. Harbin, Heather (March 11, 2016). "Scott Wilk Announces He Will Run For California State Senate". KHTS. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  13. "2018 California General Election Results – State Assembly District 38 - Districtwide Results". California Secretary of State. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  14. Modesti, Kevin (November 15, 2018). "Election 2018: Republican Dante Acosta concedes; Democrat Christy Smith takes LA-area Assembly seat". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  15. Anderson, Bryan (November 15, 2018). "More pain for GOP + Drowning in debt + Meet The Bee's new political reporter". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  16. Bricker, Brianna (December 27, 2018). "Assemblywoman Christy Smith to chair Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management". The Santa Clarita Valley Proclaimer. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  17. Wasserman, David (January 24, 2020). "CA-25 Special Election Moves From Lean to Likely Democratic". Cook Political Report.
  18. Schulberg, Jessica (December 18, 2019). "How Cenk Uygur Threw The Race To Replace Katie Hill Into Chaos". HuffPost.
  19. "Endorsement: Christy Smith is the best choice to replace Katie Hill in Congress". Los Angeles Times. February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  20. "Christy Smith". Indivisible. February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  21. Daugherty, Owen (December 11, 2019). "Pelosi endorses Christy Smith in bid to replace Katie Hill". The Hill.
  22. Bowman, Bridget (November 19, 2019). "Kamala Harris endorses Christy Smith in race to replace Katie Hill". Roll Call. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  23. White, Jeremy (November 14, 2019). "Progressive Uygur seeks Hill seat, blurs picture for Democrats". Politico.
  24. King, Laura (November 10, 2019). "Steve Knight says he will try to win back the House seat he lost to Katie Hill". Los Angeles Times.
  25. Axelrod, Tal (October 29, 2019). "George Papadopoulos launches campaign to run for Katie Hill's congressional seat". The Hill.
  26. "EMILY's List Endorses Christy Smith in California's 25th Congressional District". EMILY's List. December 10, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  27. Mutnick, Ally (January 28, 2020). "DCCC adds 12 challengers to first round of 'Red to Blue' program". Politico. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  28. Drake, Julie (January 11, 2020). "Democratic hopefuls debate". Antelope Valley Press. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  29. "Final Official Election Results - Congressional District 25". March 3, 2020. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  30. "LA County Election Results". March 3, 2020.
  31. Lunetta, Caleb (September 26, 2018). "2018 Upcoming Santa Clarita Elections: Meet California's 38th Assembly District Candidates". KHTS. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
California Assembly
Preceded by
Dante Acosta		 Member of the California State Assembly
from the 38th district
2018–present		 Incumbent
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