In 2014 she was a candidate for the California State Senate to represent the 28th district, centered in Riverside County but lost the Republican primary to Jeff Stone.

By 2004, Garcia had become a member of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's transition team after the recall election against Gray Davis and was named as one of California's delegates to the Republican National Convention.

Garcia was one of five children born in Manhattan's Lower East Side to a young Puerto Rican couple who divorced soon after her birth.

At age thirty-eight, after years of night classes, Garcia earned a Bachelor of Science degree in workforce development from Southern Illinois University.

[2] In 2014, she ran for the California State Senate, but lost a close election to Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone, a fellow Republican.