California’s conservative Huntington Beach could get a gay, Democratic congressman

Robert Garcia poses in Manhattan Beach, California, on 27 May 2026. Photograph: Caroline Brehman/Reuters View image in fullscreen Robert Garcia poses in Manhattan Beach, California, on 27 May 2026. Photograph: Caroline Brehman/Reuters California’s conservative Huntington Beach could get a gay, Democratic congressman Robert Garcia became the lead contender in Tuesday’s primaries for congressional district 42 after redistricting The conservative California community of Huntington Beach, known for banning the Pride flag from city property and fighting the state over pandemic and housing policy, could soon be represented by a gay, Democratic congressman. Robert Garcia, an incumbent two-term Democratic LGBTQ+ congressman, immigrant and Donald Trump critic, is considered the leading contender in Tuesday’s primary race for the US House seat. Thanks to a successful restricting effort that redrew California’s voting maps to favor Democrats , Huntington Beach is now part of Garcia’s congressional district 42. California’s redistricting effort, known as Proposition 50, was overwhelmingly approved by voters in November. Trump set off a wave of new mid-decade redistricting after urging Texas to adopt changes to favor Republicans during the midterm elections. California soon followed, as have a number of other states, reshaping representation across the US. Tech billionaires are spending unprecedented sums in California races. Experts say it’s the tip of the iceberg Read more Since 2025 Dave Min, a moderate Democratic, has represented the district that includes Huntington Beach. Conservative officials in the city have expressed frustration about the changes underway. “It’s just California ugly-ass politics, and they are all about their agenda and not about the people. They don’t care about the people of California one bit,” Pat Burns, a Huntington Beach city councilman, told Reuters. The Orange county city of just under 200,000 people has some 56,367 Republican voters, and 41,156 Democrats. Its city council is entirely Republican, a group that refers to itself as the “Maga-nificent Seven”, according to SFGate . The Huntington Beach city council has become significantly more conservative in recent years as the city moved rightward during and after the pandemic. The city frequently clashed with the state over Covid restrictions – thousands of people protested in 2020 after the governor ordered the closure of local beaches. In 2024, voters approved an initiative to ban non-government flags, including the Pride flag, from city property. Meanwhile, the city was been in a years-long battle with the state government over its failure to comply with California housing mandates. Garcia’s positions, including on issues such as immigration and healthcare, are at odds with much of the Maga agenda. Garcia, the former mayor of Long Beach, is the ranking Democrat on the House oversight committee which acts as congressional watchdog over the executive branch. He was the first