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Democrat defeats Republican Rep. Garcia in key California House race, “The Virgin Galactic former CEO also served as NASA chief of staff, he won California’s 27th Congressional District, a northern Los Angeles-area House seat.”
More NASA Alumni In Congress https://t.co/3xGQgHTlOZ – Congratulations George Whitesides @gtwhitesides pic.twitter.com/1uMjpDZysU
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) November 12, 2024
Whitesides, a Democrat, beat Republican incumbent Mike Garcia in a close race, capturing about 51% of the vote. Garcia conceded his defeat on November 11, 2024.
Whitesides will take a wealth of aerospace experience and interest to Washington, D.C. From 2004 to 2008, for example, he was executive director of the National Space Society, a nonprofit that advocates for space science and exploration. During that stretch, he also served as a senior adviser to Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson’s suborbital space tourism company.
He returned to Virgin Galactic, becoming the company’s first-ever CEO. Whitesides departed the company in 2021 to gear up for a political run (and do other things, such as co-found Megafire Action, an organization devoted to combating the United States’ worsening wildfire problem).
Last week’s election brought other aerospace players into the political action as well — chief among them SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, who campaigned hard for President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump announced yesterday (Nov. 12) that Musk will co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency, a new organization that aims to “dismantle government bureaucracy” and “slash excess regulations.”
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Source: SPACE.COM / NASA.GOV / THEHILL.COM