The balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives could be decided by competitive Congressional races in the State of California. One of those races is California’s 27th Congressional District, the northern Los Angeles County district that has been led by Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia since 2020. 

Garcia is being challenged this November by Democratic candidate George Whitesides, a former NASA Chief of Staff and CEO at Virgin Galactic. 

Whitesides joined “Inside the Issues” host Amrit Singh to discuss his campaign for District 27, which includes Santa Clarita, Palmdale and Lancaster. 

“This is really a district where we do the impossible; we broke the speed of sound in this district, we built the Space Shuttles and now we build some of the nation’s most important military aircraft,” Whitesides said. “This is a community that I’m deeply rooted in and that I’m firmly supporting to do great things in the future, create more jobs, keep us safe and do all the things that we want to do to build a better tomorrow for our kids.”

On the issue of economy and social services, Whitesides argued that there is a contrast between the two candidates. 

“We have to start from a principle of government services,” said Whitesides. “My opponent has come out in favor of decimating Social Security and privatizing Medicare. I think that’s the wrong path and I’m not afraid to say it.”

Whitesides also spoke on the issues of reproductive rights, wildfire prevention and more. 

Click the video above to watch the full interview