The field for the CA-25 Congressional seat just got bigger, as former Congressman Steve Knight has officially entered the 2020 race against the likes of Assemblywoman Christy Smith and former Trump advisor George Papadopoulos.

After taking time to evaluate the race in the CA-25 Congressional district, Knight told KHTS reporters Saturday that he has officially entered the 2020 congressional race.

“I took a little bit of time to evaluate what the race was looking now, I didn’t want to make any split-second decision over something like this,” Knight said. “But we’re in.”

Knight enters the race in the wake of now former Congresswoman Katie Hill’s resignation, who left office after an investigation was launched by the House Ethics Committee into accusations that Hill had ongoing sexual relationships with members of her staff.

Knight lost to Hill back in 2018, which caused him and his team to reevaluate their campaign strategies in the 2018 race.

“When you lose an election, you evaluate everything,” Knight said. “We’re going to change quite a bit of strategy this time around.”

While Knight did not want to reveal too much of what this new strategy would entail, he did mention a focus on the things he was able to accomplish when he was in Congress, including finding increased funding for local aerospace industry, as well as securing $47 million for improvements for the I-5 Freeway.

“I think getting folks more information about what I accomplished in Congress will be a big focus,” Knight said. “You’re going to see some new things.”

Knight went on to say that while he would remain committed to veterans and military issues within the district, he also wanted to look into infrastructure improvements and school funding for the district if he was elected back into Congress.

Before officially entering the race, Knight said that he had reached out and talked to the three Republican candidates who have been campaigning over the past several months: Mike Garcia, Angela Underwood Jacobs, and Mark Cripe.

“I’m not coming in here to disparage anybody or hurt anybody,” Knight said. 

When asked why people should vote for him come March, Knight pointed to his record and experience in the position.

“It wasn’t like I did it 10 years ago either, I did it 10 months ago,” Knight said.  “I know what it takes.”

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