Katie Hill says she cried a few days after the Republican took her seat

“Yeah, going back to my old seat Republican is very painful – for a ton of people, for me. Wrote on Twitter. “I went offline and cried for a few days, but as always, I’m ready to stand up again and fight back. I hope you are too.”

Garcia, a former Navy pilot, flipped the congressional seat for California’s 25th district red for the first time since 1998. Trump lost the district by six points in 2016, but Garcia was 12 points ahead of state Assemblywoman Democrat Christie Smith.

Trump has gone out of his way to encourage Garcia in guns and immigration in recent weeks, and some Democrats believe the presidential backing will be a liability in the race. Former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top Democrats are all lined up behind Smith.

Hill seat was empty When he resigned last year After agreeing to an affair with a campaign employee, the council opened an ethical hearing on the allegation that it had contacted one of its congressional employees. Hill admitted an “inappropriate” relationship with the employee before taking office in 2018, but denied any love affair, which would have violated House rules and apologized to members.

Two years ago, Democrats took seven Republican House seats in California, which helped the party regain control of the chamber. The GOP now seats six of California’s 53 House seats.

The 25th District, anchored in Los Angeles County, has a democratic record edge, with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library at its western end with a slice of Ventura County and Hill ranked 9th in 2018.

Fox News telephone Greg Rey contributed to this report.