George Whitesides

George Whitesides is running to represent California’s 27th congressional district in the U.S. House. A former aerospace executive, Whitesides will bring a unique professional background to his role in Congress.

Born and raised in Southern California, Whitesides earned bachelor's and master's degrees in aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He went on to have a successful career in the private space industry, serving as the CEO of Virgin Galactic and chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.

Whiteside worked on President Obama’s transition team in 2008, and then served as Chief of Staff for NASA for the Obama administration. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the agency’s highest honor.

Whitesides has positioned himself as a pragmatic, solutions-oriented Democrat focused on issues like scientific research, infrastructure investment, and workforce development.

In Congress, his commitment will be to creating great jobs in the district, finding solutions to the wildfire crisis, protecting a woman's right to choose, and protecting Social Security and Medicare for seniors.

Whitesides was one of two Democrats in the nonpartisan primary. He came in second behind the Republican incumbent, but he is running in CA-27 (rated D+4) which is in Southern just north of Los Angeles.