After polls closed Tuesday night, Republican Mike Garcia jumped out to a strong lead with early mail-in ballots in the 25th District special election to complete the rest of ex-Rep. Katie Hill's term in Congress.

As of this morning, Garcia was up 12 points on Democrat Christy Smith.

"I won't give a victory speech tonight," Garcia said on a conference call with supporters and members of the media. But he added, "it is looking extremely good."

Democratic Assemblywoman Christy Smith said in a statement it's too early to call the race. Her party has a registration advantage in the north L.A. and eastern Ventura County district, which Hill won by nine points.

With files from LAist.com

For the latest on the race from KPCC reporter Libby Denkmann, click here 

Guest:

Libby Denkmann, senior politics reporter at KPCC; she tweets @libdenk