Democrat · California's 27th District · 2026
George Whitesides
Whitesides is a pilot who also trained to coach passengers on flights that simulate weightlessness.
Biography
George Whitesides is a private pilot and trained coach for flights that simulate weightlessness.1 He and his wife, Loretta, have two children, with much of his working life rooted in the aerospace industry that employs so many families in the Antelope Valley.2
He graduated from Princeton, earned a master's in geographic information systems and remote sensing at Cambridge, and received a Fulbright scholarship to Tunisia.1 His career included service as NASA chief of staff and a decade as Virgin Galactic's first chief executive. NASA awarded him its Distinguished Service Medal.2
Before Congress, he cofounded Megafire Action and helped convene scientific work on detecting and tracking dangerous fires. He also helped lead the Antelope Valley's pandemic task force, connecting industry, government and medical providers.2 Now in his first House term, he has introduced proposals addressing disaster related tax relief, firefighter health and pay, veterans' housing and government efficiency.2
Whitesides emphasizes lower household costs, better jobs and reducing wildfire risk, alongside bringing federal investment to local health and safety projects.2 He faces Republican Jason Gibbs, a Santa Clarita council member and aerospace engineer, for another term representing the Twenty Seventh District.3
Record and controversies
Late stock disclosure
NOTUS reported a late Planet Labs stock sale disclosure in August 2025.4 The original report lists a March 27, 2025 sale valued at $50,001 to $100,000 under Hummingbird Circle Trust and was signed August 13.5 Whitesides wrote that the sale was at a loss, part of divesting to avoid potential conflicts, and that neither he nor his wife held individual publicly traded company stocks after March 28.5 Those statements are his explanation, not an independent finding about every holding. No insider trading finding or specific penalty was verified here.