Kamala Harris endorses Christy Smith in bid to fill Katie Hill’s seat

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) on Tuesday endorsed state Assemblywoman Christy Smith (D-Calif.) to succeed former Rep. Katie Hill.

“In the State Assembly, Christy has been an effective leader and a fearless voice for the people she represents,” Harris said in a statement. 

{mosads}“I know Christy will do the same in Congress — working to enact tougher gun safety laws, combat the climate crisis, fully fund public schools, invest more in emergency response and public safety, lower the cost of prescription drug prices and build an economy that works for everyone,” she added.

CQ-Roll Call first reported the news.

Smith has already received the endorsement of Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chairman Mark J. González.

She will likely benefit from the support of major California Democrats in an already-crowded race that also includes The Young Turks founder Cenk Uygur on the Democratic side and, on the Republican side, former Rep. Steve Knight (R-Calif.), who Hill unseated, and former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos, who served 12 days in prison after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI.

All candidates, both Democrats and Republicans, will be on the same ballot on March 3, the same day as congressional and presidential primaries for the state. If no candidate secures a simple majority, the two top candidates will advance to a May 12 election.

Hill resigned earlier in November after explicit photos of her were leaked to the press, which she has attributed to her husband, and a House ethics investigation was launched into allegations of an affair with a congressional staffer. Hill has denied the allegations but acknowledged an affair with a campaign staffer, and said she resigned to prevent the release of more photographs.