May 9, 2020 | 4:49pm
President Trump blasted California’s “rigged election” in a string of tweets supporting Republican Mike Garcia, who could flip the district formerly held by disgraced Rep. Katie Hill back into the GOP’s column in a special election on Tuesday.
“The Democrats, who fought like crazy to get all mail in only ballots, and succeeded, have just opened a voting booth in the most Democrat area in the State,” Trump complained Saturday. “They are trying to steal another election…SCAM!”
The tweet came in reaction to news that Los Angeles County had added a last-minute polling place in a Democrat-heavy area — even though Gov. Gavin Newsom has restricted the contest to mostly mail-in balloting in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Early returns show the election trending Garcia’s way, Politico reported Friday. About 44 percent of the ballots that have been received came from Republican voters, with just 36 percent coming from Democrats in the district.
Hill flipped California’s 25th district, a Republican stronghold for decades, in 2018’s “blue wave” election that swept the Democrats into power in the House of Representatives. But she was forced out in October when scandalous photos revealed her “throuple” relationship with her husband and a younger female staffer.
If Garcia — a former Navy fighter pilot who won Trump’s endorsement last month — can turn the tables in the Southern California district, it will be the first time in two decades that the GOP has regained a congressional seat from the Democratic Party.
Newsom announced Friday that California will mail ballots to all of the state‘s 20 million voters for November’s presidential election — despite sharp criticism from Republicans.
