Special elections give Republicans a boost

Republicans might be on the brink of capturing a Southern California congressional district for the first time in more than 20 years. Former U.S. Navy fighter pilot and political newcomer Mike Garcia leads Democratic state lawmaker Christy Smith by 16 percentage points with more than three-quarters of the votes counted from Tuesday’s special election. The winner will complete the term of former U.S. Rep. Katie Hill, a Democrat who resigned in October because of scandal. The 25th District covers parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Were there other races on Tuesday? Republican state Sen. Tom Tiffany easily defeated Democrat Tricia Zunker in a special election to finish out U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy’s term representing Wisconsin’s rural 7th District. Duffy, also a Republican, stepped down in September to help care for his daughter who was born with Down syndrome and a heart defect. Nebraska’s Republican and Democratic primaries broke the state record for absentee voting with nearly 400,000 mail-in ballots cast due to the coronavirus pandemic. As expected, President Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden were the winners. In the state’s GOP primary for the U.S. Senate, incumbent Sen. Ben Sasse easily defeated his primary challenger and will face Democrat Chris Janicek in November.

Dig deeper: Read Anne K. Walters’ report in The Stew about Katie Hill’s resignation in October.