Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, held on to an early lead after the first couple of counts Tuesday night, but the Santa Clarita Valley’s lone congressional race will once again be way too close to call as of Election Night.  Garcia had 91,024 votes, good for 50.1% of the tally, and Democratic challenger George Whitesides had 90,689 votes, or 49.9%.  Neither were available for press in the SCV after the results came out, but Garcia issued a statement via email around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday through campaign spokesman Peter Christiansen:  “As we await tonight’s results, I’m very optimistic and incredibly thankful for the overwhelming support from our community. We’ve run a campaign focused on addressing the real issues impacting California families — from tackling inflation to keeping our neighborhoods safe and protecting the Social Security and Medicare benefits our seniors rely on,” Garcia said in the statement. “I’m proud of the message we shared and the dedicated work of our volunteers and supporters who made it possible. I’m eager to continue fighting for the security our district deserves.”  Whitesides’ campaign statement was not available as of press time.  Assembly   In the 40th Assembly District, incumbent Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, said she was cautiously optimistic based on the early returns, which had her up 72,593-66,474 over Republican challenger Patrick Gipson, 52.2% to 47.8%.  “There’s a lot of returns that still need to come in,” Schiavo said Tuesday night, from her party’s SCV headquarters, talking about the canvassing effort on the final day of the campaign.  “We’ve been hearing that they’re seeing the work that we’re doing, that we’ve delivered more in resources to this community than ever before.”  Gipson also remained positive, also hoping for good news from the remainder of the uncounted ballots, which ended up being a 520-vote gap in the March Primary.  “What I’m taking away from the experience is that obviously people want their voices heard, and Santa Clarita is one of the biggest voices out here,” he said.  “I know for a fact we win Santa Clarita,” he added, “but our hardest thing is the San Fernando Valley, and so that’s what makes it really difficult for here.”  Senate  Former Republican Assemblywoman Suzette Martinez-Valladares led 104,844 to 95,860 over Democrat Kipp Mueller as of press time, with a 52.2%-47.8% lead.  Neither candidate’s campaign was immediately available after the initial results came in Tuesday night.  Results from the county are set to be certified by Dec. 5 while the California Secretary of State is scheduled to certify state results by Dec. 13.  The post Garcia holds early lead in race for Congress  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.