FEDERAL: 27th Congressional District – 2026 Primary Election

VOTER GUIDE – QUICK LINKS TO:

U.S. Representative – 27th Congressional District – Vote for (1)

George Whitesides (D) – U.S. Representative/Father ENDORSED

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RECOMMENDATION: YES. With a caveat. Rep. Whitesides has just finished his newbie tour and he has made some terrible votes in amongst the good ones. He voted “YES” on the odious “Laken-Riley Act,” and as the CA-DSA noted below, he also voted to send more money to Israel, defund USAID and UNRWA, and voted to honor Charlie Kirk.

PEOPLE! If you are his constituents – commit to calling his office often! If you think your vote entitles you to “set and forget” about your legislator for the next two years, to communicate regularly with your electeds, do not be surprised if they start responding to those who do. This is the whole reason Indivisible exists. Backroom legislative staffers noted that their bosses were drifting rightward, because right-leaning people were the only ones bothering to call.

We say give him another chance, especially as a carefully discreet MAGA-endorsed Republican candidate is lurking in the shallows.

READING:

(AOL) Your guide to the California Congressional District 27 race: Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley

Sample of endorsements:

CADEM
Los Angeles dem. Party
California Young Democrats
LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERSsierra club
Planned parenthood
equality CA
Adam
SALUD CARBAJAL
Julia Brownley
Leiu
Fiona MaHenry Stern
CA Teachers associationCA fed. of teachers
NATIONAL UNION OF HEALTH WORKERS
calaborfed
UAW

(Progressive Voter Guide) Re-elect Rep. George Whitesides to keep CD-27 on the right track for progress. 

Progressive endorsements: Rep. Whitesides has the endorsement of many progressive groups, including California Environmental Voters, Reproductive Freedom for All, Stonewall Democratic Club, Los Angeles Federation of Labor, Nation Union of Healthcare Workers, California Teachers Association, and several other labor unions. He is also supported by several elected officials, such as U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, Rep. Judy Chu, and Rep. Ro Khanna. 

Governance: Rep. Whitesides has served in this congressional seat since 2025, when he was elected with over 2% of the vote, unseating the Republican incumbent. This session, Rep. Whitesides has sponsored eight bills, including legislation to establish the Office of National Fraud and Scam Prevention, protect federal statistical agencies from presidential overreach, increase transparency of U.S. Postal Service closures and consolidations, and exclude relief payments made to the victims of the Chiquita Canyon elevated temperature landfill event from taxation. 

Immigration record: Early in his tenure in Congress, Rep. Whitesides was one of 12 Democrats who broke with the party to vote for the Laken Riley Act — which helped kick off the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant agenda — and later for a resolution that affirmed free and open communication between local, state, and federal law enforcement and thanked ICE. He has also firmly condemned ICE and Border Patrol tactics, voted against unconditional funding for the Department of Homeland Security, conducted oversight of the Adelanto ICE detention center, demanded answers for the illegal National Guard deployment in Los Angeles, and co-sponsored the bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act to provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. Whiteside’s Democratic colleagues have sponsored more comprehensive legislation limiting the powers of ICE and providing protection for more undocumented immigrants. 

Caleb Norwood (D)

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RECOMMENDATION: NO. We appreciate CA-DSA’s analysis and he gave good generic answers here.

Caleb, advice you didn’t ask for, but please, start by running for an elected office in your community. Give people a chance to see what you can do, and give yourself a chance to see if dealing with the public in often adversarial conditions is really what you want to do.

Not actually a stunning recommendation…but he gave good generic answers here. Caleb, please start by running for an elected office in your community. Give people a chance to see what you can do, and give yourself a chance to see if dealing with public issues is really what you want to do.

(CA-DSA) This district is the far northern edges of LA County, covering a bit of San Fernando and then Santa Clarita up through Lancaster and Palmdale. This district is historically white, wealthy homeowners but has rapidly shifted to be a plurality Latino, median income district over the last decade as multiracial renters and families have been priced out of Los Angeles proper.

After George Whitesides flipped this seat blue in 2024, Proposition 50 redrew the map to make it much safer for Democrats. The new CA-27 voted for Harris 53% to Trump’s 43% in 2024, making this seat a reliable Democrat hold when the House is up for election in November. Which is great for us, because it really sucked to have to recommend you vote for him in 2024 just to flip the seat, and we don’t want to do that again. 

Whitesides is literally a boss – the former CEO of Virgin Galactic promising to govern as a “moderate.” During his tenure in office, he voted to send more money to Israel, defund USAID and UNRWA, and voted to honor Charlie Kirk. The Democratic Party and political establishment is backing Whitesides for another term, and he’s likely to succeed here. 

In the general election, he’s basically guaranteed to face and beat Republican Jason Gibbs, a standard Santa Clarita Republican fearmongering about the border, taxes, and crime. 

You should instead give your primary vote to Caleb Norwood, a candidate who’s barely trying, has only raised a couple hundred dollars, but whose platform includes abolishing ICE, Medicare for All, and an arms embargo on Israel.

(knock-la.com) Representative George Whitesides, a former Virgin Galactic CEO and a self-described moderate, was a disappointment in his first term in office. He voted for the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which increased US military spending and failed to constrain Trump’s military deployments to Venezuela, Iran, and US cities. He also voted for an obnoxious GOP resolution opposing socialism and accepted more than $600,000 in donations from AIPAC.

Democrat Caleb Norwood is running on a progressive platform that includes investing in public housing, abolishing ICE, and ending arms sales to Israel. He is the best candidate in this race.

The remaining candidates are worse than Whitesides. Democrat Roberto Ramos supports MAGA bills to gut healthcare and prohibit gender-affirming care to minors. Republicans Jason Gibbs and David Neidhart support failed tough-on-crime approaches and increased border security.

Roberto Ramos (D) – Retired Military Analyst

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RECOMMENDATION: NO! And we have to ask the question…is this guy really a Democrat?

We’re not thrilled with Rep. Whitesides votes on everything (constituents – it’s YOUR JOB to call his office and tell him when he’s fucking up!), but the reasoning in this guy’s website make us wonder if he’s a shill. We’ve been on the alert since Kyle Langford, a baby-faced Nazi who referenced Auschwitz as a “model” for solving homelessness and unemployment, tried to rebrand himself as a Democrat after Prop. 50 passed.

  • Age: unknown, appears to be in his 20s or 30s
  • City of residence: Santa Clarita
  • Occupation: Marine veteran, military intelligence
  • Education: BA in political science from UC Berkeley, and studying for a MA in government and national security at UCLA
  • Funding: has not submitted data to the FEC
  • Email: RobertoRamosforcongress@gmail.com
  • Campaign Website: https://ramosca27.com/
NO ENDORSEMENTS
Not even the mythical “Rachel M”

Sorry, Roberto, but you give us the same smarmy vibe as this guy.

  • Ramos: “Protecting children should never be controversial. Yet Congressman Whitesides voted against the Protect Children’s Innocence Act on December 17, 2025.”
    • Us: Ummm…this was a bill to CRIMINALIZE gender-affirming care for minors, care that had been recommended by doctors and approved by their parents! It proposes up to 10 years in prison for providers of puberty blockers, hormones, or surgeries to minors, with some exceptions for intersex conditions. We are happy he voted against it!
  • Ramos: “Healthcare costs are one of the biggest pressures facing working families and seniors in CA-27. Congressman Whitesides voted against the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act (12/17/2025). This vote cut against protecting access and affordability for families who rely on public healthcare programs and for seniors living on fixed incomes.”
    • Us: Ummm…instead of a clean 3-year extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Republicans created this bill instead, which critics, which include the AFL-CIO, pointed out shifted costs to workers, as it reduced costs for employers and insurance companies. It allowed health plans to provide stripped-down coverage that does not comply with ACA essential benefits requirements in order to lower premium costs and claims expenses for employers and insurers. The costs of this policy, however, would be borne by people with pre-existing conditions and chronic diseases that find their insurance does not cover the services they need. Further, it would rewards low-road employers that seek a competitive edge by skimping on coverage for their workers. We are happy he voted against it!
  • Ramos: “CA-27 voters expect courage and clarity when it comes to accountability. On June 24, Congressman Whitesides voted to table impeachment proceedings against Donald J. Trump. Then, on December 11, 2025, when the House voted on impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors, Congressman Whitesides voted “Present.”
    • Us: Ummm…On June 24, Whitesides voted with the majority of Democrats, as they felt an impeachment under the control of the odious Jim Jordan, Republican Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, would be a disaster. (Read more about this here.)
    • On December 11, 23 Democratic lawmakers opposed Rep. Al Green’s resolution, for the same reasons as the prior action – that with Republicans controlling both chambers, any impeachment effort against the president would be expected to fail, with critics dismissing such moves as a publicity stunt. Whitesides joined with 46 of his colleagues in voting “present.” There was much to debate amongst Democratic legislators on what to do about this guaranteed-to-fail effort. Rep. Brad Sherman joined 140 lawmakers who voted to allow the resolution. We expect more nuanced thought from a candidate who went to Berkeley for American Politics and who is now attending law school!

Jason Gibbs (R) – City Councilmember/Engineer

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RECOMMENDATION: NO! He has been endorsed by Reform California – they see in him support for the far-right issues his carefully worded website avoids.

Sample of endorsements:

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