Christy Smith (politician)

Christy Smith (née Fisher, born 1969) is an American politician who was the California State Assemblywoman for the 38th district from 2018 until 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, Smith ran three unsuccessful campaigns for Congress, losing all three to Republican Mike Garcia.[1]

This article is about the California State Assemblywoman. For other people with the same name, see Christy Smith.

Christy Smith
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 38th district
In office
December 3, 2018 – December 7, 2020
Preceded byDante Acosta
Succeeded bySuzette Martinez Valladares
Personal details
Born
Christy Fisher

(1969-05-15) May 15, 1969
Würzburg, West Germany (now Germany)
Political partyDemocratic
SpousePhil Smith
Children2
EducationCollege of the Canyons
University of California, Los Angeles (BA)

Early life, education, 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,[2] settling in Fortville, Indiana, where her father, Jerry Fisher, found work at RCA Records.[3][4] They later moved to Terre Haute before finally settling down in the Santa Clarita Valley in 1979.[4] The eldest of three children, she graduated from William S. Hart High School in Santa Clarita and attended College of the Canyons.[5][4] She received her Bachelor of Arts in political science from University of California, Los Angeles in 1993.[6][7][8] Smith then worked for the United States Department of Education as a policy analyst during the Clinton administration.[4] She has served two terms on the board of the Newhall School District.[9]

California State Assembly
Main article: 2018 California State Assembly election

In 2016, Smith ran in California's 38th State Assembly district.[7] The seat was open after Republican incumbent Scott Wilk decided to run for State Senate.[10] Although she led the candidate field in the open primary in June, she eventually lost to Republican Santa Clarita City Councilman 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%.[11][12][13]

She chaired the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management.[14]

California's 25th congressional district elections

2020 special and general
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. Hill endorsed Smith as her successor.[15] Smith's State Assembly district covers more than half of the congressional district.[16]

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.[17][18][19][20][21]

Smith's 11 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.[22][23][24] In December 2019, EMILY's List endorsed Smith,[25] as did the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee the following month.[26]

Smith declined to attend a Democratic primary debate held on January 9, 2020, in Palmdale, California, citing her legislative duties in the State Assembly.[27]

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,[28] a former U.S. Navy pilot. In the general election on November 3, 2020, she faced Garcia again, this time losing by 333 votes[29] for the full two-year congressional term.[17][30]

2022
Further information: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in California § District 27

In May 2021, Smith announced her intent to run a third time for what is now California's 27th congressional seat.[31] In the November 8, 2022, election she lost again to Garcia.

Personal life

Smith lives in Santa Clarita, California, with her husband, Phil, and their two daughters.[5][32]

Electoral history

2016
2016 California State Assembly election, 38th district
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Christy Smith 44,755 44.7
Republican Dante Acosta 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 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

2020 special
2020 U.S. House of Representatives special election, California's 25th congressional district[33]
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[34]
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) 169,638 50.0
Democratic Christy Smith 169,305 50.0
Total votes 338,943 100.0
Republican hold

References
  1. "Smith files to run for CA-25 in 2022". December 5, 2020.
  2. Smith, Christy (September 22, 2017). "Christy Smith: Time to hear what Dreamers have to say". Retrieved November 21, 2018 – via Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
  3. "Jerry Wayne Fisher obituary". Crown Hill Funeral Home & Cemetery. July 23, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  4. Buttleman, Michelle (August 25, 2019). "Assemblywoman Christy Smith is passionate about public safety, education". Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  5. "Christy Smith for Assembly 2018 - Meet Christy". Christy Smith for Assembly 2018 - Home. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  6. Martinez, Christian (May 28, 2018). "Assembly District 38: Competition high for seat that represents Simi Valley". Ventura County Star. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  7. Holt, Jim (January 3, 2016). "Christy Smith announces run for Assembly seat". Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  8. "Christy Smith: Media Release" (PDF). August 1, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  9. Signal staff (May 14, 2016). "38th Assembly District candidate profiles". Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  10. Harbin, Heather (March 11, 2016). "Scott Wilk Announces He Will Run For California State Senate". KHTS. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  11. "2018 California General Election Results – State Assembly District 38 - Districtwide Results". California Secretary of State. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. Schulberg, Jessica (December 18, 2019). "How Cenk Uygur Threw The Race To Replace Katie Hill Into Chaos". HuffPost.
  16. Wasserman, David (January 24, 2020). "CA-25 Special Election Moves From Lean to Likely Democratic". Cook Political Report.
  17. Macias, Martin (February 13, 2020). "Voters Set for Turbulent Primary in California's 25th Congressional District". Courthouse News. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  18. "Endorsement: Christy Smith is the best choice to replace Katie Hill in Congress". Los Angeles Times. February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  19. "Christy Smith". Indivisible. February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  20. Daugherty, Owen (December 11, 2019). "Pelosi endorses Christy Smith in bid to replace Katie Hill". The Hill.
  21. Bowman, Bridget (November 19, 2019). "Kamala Harris endorses Christy Smith in race to replace Katie Hill". Roll Call. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  22. White, Jeremy (November 14, 2019). "Progressive Uygur seeks Hill seat, blurs picture for Democrats". Politico.
  23. 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.
  24. Axelrod, Tal (October 29, 2019). "George Papadopoulos launches campaign to run for Katie Hill's congressional seat". The Hill.
  25. "EMILY's List Endorses Christy Smith in California's 25th Congressional District". EMILY's List. December 10, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  26. Mutnick, Ally (January 28, 2020). "DCCC adds 12 challengers to first round of 'Red to Blue' program". Politico. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  27. Drake, Julie (January 11, 2020). "Democratic hopefuls debate". Antelope Valley Press. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  28. 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.
  29. "U.S. House of Representatives District 27 - Districtwide Results, California Secretary of State website".
  30. "Democrat Christy Smith Concedes Tight Congressional Race to Republican Mike Garcia".
  31. Axelrod, Tal (March 31, 2021). "Christy Smith launches congressional campaign, setting up rematch for competitive California House seat". The Hill. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  32. Lunetta, Caleb (September 26, 2018). "2018 Upcoming Santa Clarita Elections: Meet California's 38th Assembly District Candidates". KHTS. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  33. "Final Official Election Results - Congressional District 25". March 3, 2020. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  34. "LA County Election Results". March 3, 2020.
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