KTLA reports:

“Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia claimed victory Friday in his back-and-forth contest with Democrat Christy Smith in the 25th District north of Los Angeles, a Southern California battleground that Democrats had captured just two years ago.

“In a statement, Garcia said “victory is clear,” given the votes remaining uncounted.

“The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the race.”

My statement on election results: pic.twitter.com/qehimJtler

— Mike Garcia (@MikeGarcia2020) November 21, 2020

Isn’t this the equivalent of calling yourself, the “President-elect”? The AP, Fox or CNN haven’t called it, so I guess not.

In this very heated race to flip a California seat back to Blue, the votes are pretty much fully counted, and each new ballot dump counted breaks against Smith and towards Garcia. Though it is still tight, the numbers and the remaining votes point to a clear victor.

The wonks on the ground in the Golden State say it’s pretty much a done deal:

Positive news for Rep. Mike Garcia (R) in #CA25. Christy Smith (D) would now need to win ~58% of the remaining 2,600 or so (?) ballots to erase her 400 vote deficit. https://t.co/fjrQ8Y5DPQ

— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 21, 2020

L.A. County updates in #CA25, adding 2,032 votes that break 51.1%/48.9% for Democrat @ChristyForCA25, trimming incumbent Republican @MikeGarcia2020's margin by 46 votes to a new lead of 400 even. https://t.co/JFqv4eEUy6

— Rob Pyers (@rpyers) November 21, 2020

Projection: Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Cali.) defeats Christy Smith (D) in #CA25.

Alexa, play “Ventura Highway” by America

Not a single incumbent Republican congressman has been defeated in this cycle, as Republicans hold this Southern California seat they flipped in May.

— Mark Koval (@stateoftheraces) November 21, 2020

You can hear Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s dentures clacking from here.

In May, Christy Smith (D-Whiner) lost a special election in CA-25 to Mike Garcia by 10 points in her attempt to finish out disgraced Democrat Throuple Katie Hill’s term. Smith was hoping to regain the seat in November, and the Democrat Party spent a lot of money to see this done. A valiant effort, but it appears Rep. Garcia has pulled it out once again.

Bye-bye, 2018 Blue Wave. With Republicans flipping CA-39 (Young Kim), CA-48 (Michelle Steel), and now CA-21 (David Valadao), it’s more hello, 2020 Red Tsunami.

Rep. Garcia was gracious enough to give her a nod in his victory speech:

“A tip of the hat to Christy Smith who ran an excellent and aggressive campaign. Running in these elections is difficult, and she did it with grace.”

That was very kind of Rep. Garcia and reflects what a gentleman he is and the type of campaign he ran. The millions of California independent contractors, freelancers, and self-employed Smith hung out to dry with her votes on both AB5 and AB2257 would beg to differ, which is part and parcel why she could not pull out a win. Smith’s support of “Defund the Police” in a district that is defined by being home to a massive number of active and retired law enforcement didn’t help matters either.

But Smith refuses to go quietly; she will not go gently into that good night of obscurity and refuses to concede. In a statement which, interestingly, she did not post on her own Twitter feed, she calls Rep. Garcia’s premature call of victory “dangerous to our democratic process” “wholly inappropriate” and “disrespectful”:

Not conceding in #CA-25 — the statement from Democrat @ChristyforCA25 Smith: pic.twitter.com/PxovheYHAX

— Carla Marinucci (@cmarinucci) November 21, 2020

Politico’s California Playbook writer Carla Marinucci posted the refusal to concede for her, and played more interference with another California race:

This is what a class act concession statement looks like — from the Mayor of West Sacramento👇 https://t.co/WLzBCMc6KF

— Carla Marinucci (@cmarinucci) November 21, 2020

Interesting that this is okay for Smith to do, but President Trump is ruining democracy for generations because he refuses to concede.

But I digress…

A savvy constituent says the quiet part out loud:

Wow, a Politico reporter acting as a stenographer for Democrats. What a shock.

— Disappointed In You (@HeyItsJake_H) November 21, 2020

And even her fans are telling Smith it’s time. Take the “L”.

It's Nov. 23rd and the percentage reported has been stuck at 98% for a week. It's time to call it.

I know how much the DNC was hoping for Christie to win, but if there were a flood a votes that go 100% to her we would want an audit, anyway. She lost.

— 🇺🇸🌹DeputyJones🌹🇺🇸 (@realDeputyJones) November 21, 2020

Another Republican House seat held, despite prognostications from the usual suspects. Looking at you, 538. And thankfully, another nail in the coffin of the Biden-Harris “mandate.”