Republican claims victory in special California House vote

A republican candidate has won a congressional seat from the democrats in Liberal California for the first time in more than two decades.

Democrat Christy Smith has conceded the special election to republican Mike Garcia, a former navy fighter pilot.

Republicans lost the House of Representatives seat by nearly double digits in the 2018 midterm elections.

The election was held to fill democrat Katie hill’s seat after she resigned last year in a sex scandal.

It is the first time the Republican Party has won a democratic-held seat in the state since 1998.