Christy Smith

Smith's eleven opponents in the March 3, 2020, primary election included former U.S. Representative Steve Knight, progressive political commentator Cenk Uygur, and foreign policy adviser for Donald Trump's 2016 campaign George Papadopoulos. In December 2019, EMILY's List endorsed Smith, as did the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee the following month.

Smith declined to attend a Democratic primary debate held on January 9, 2020, in Palmdale, California, citing her legislative duties in the State Assembly.

On March 3, 2020, a primary for the special election was held to fill the remainder of Hill's term at the same time that a primary election for the 117th United States Congress took place. Smith finished first in both elections. On May 12, 2020, a runoff was conducted to fill the remainder of Hill's term, which she lost to Republican Mike Garcia, a former U.S. Navy pilot. In another election on November 3, 2020, she will face Garcia once again, this time for a full two-year congressional term.

On October 28, 2019, Smith announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in the 2020 California's 25th congressional district special election. She became the Democratic nominee for the seat and was defeated by Mike Garcia on May 12, 2020. In another election on November 3, 2020, she will once again face Garcia for a full congressional term.

On October 28, 2019, one day after Katie Hill announced her intent to resign from Congress, Smith announced her bid to fill Hill's vacated congressional seat. Her State Assembly district covers more than half of the congressional district.

Hill endorsed Smith as her successor, telling HuffPost that Smith was considered "the mom of Democratic politics" in the district well before the historically Republican area became friendlier to Democrats. "There's no one else that I could even think of that I would want to run for this," Hill added. Smith picked up endorsements from the Los Angeles Times, Indivisible, and prominent Democratic figures such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, and Governor Gavin Newsom. The Los Angeles Times editorial board wrote, "Smith is a centrist, pragmatic Democrat who in just a year in the Legislature has distinguished herself as an elected official more interested in pushing good policy than playing politics, something we’d like to see more often in Congress. We recommend that voters choose her on March 3, and that they do so twice."

In 2018, she ran again for the 38th district against Acosta and won 51.2% to Acosta's 48.8%.

In 2016, Smith ran for the California's 38th State Assembly district. The seat was open after Republican incumbent Scott Wilk decided to run for state senate. Although she led the candidate field in the open primary in June, she eventually lost to incumbent Republican Dante Acosta, 52.87% to 47.13%, in the November general election.

Christy Smith (née Fisher; born May 15, 1969) is an American politician serving as the California State Assemblywoman for the 38th district since 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, her district encompasses Agua Dulce, Castaic, Simi Valley, the far northern portion of the San Fernando Valley, as well as most of the Santa Clarita Valley.

Smith was born in a U.S. Army hospital in 1969 in Würzburg, West Germany (now Germany). Her parents returned to the United States when she was six months old, settling in Fortville, Indiana, where her father, Jerry, found work at RCA Records. They later moved to Terre Haute before finally settling down in the Santa Clarita Valley in 1979. The eldest of three children, she graduated from William S. Hart High School in Santa Clarita and attended College of the Canyons. She received her Bachelor of Arts in political science from University of California, Los Angeles in 1993. Smith then worked for the United States Department of Education as a policy analyst during the Clinton administration. She has served two terms on the board of the Newhall School District.