Democratic socialist Angela Gonzales-Torres unseats Jimmy Gomez in LA House race
Democratic socialist Angela Gonzales-Torres unseated Rep.Jimmy Gomez, ending the Democrat’s nearly decade-long hold on California’s 34th Congressional District as he faces a House Ethics Committee investigation into sexual misconduct allegations.The first-time candidate claimed 58.7% of the vote to Gomez’s 41.3%, with 73% of the ballots counted, according to the Associated Press.The all-Democratic race in one of the state’s bluest districts was reshaped this year by the allegations against Gomez.In August, the House Ethics Committee confirmed it was investigating whether he “may have engaged in sexual misconduct,” including inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer.CNN first revealed the probe in June, and later reported that investigators had uncovered additional allegations.
The inquiry followed a report that Gomez was seen in 2023 kissing a younger congressional aide who did not work for him.Gomez, who is married with one child and chairs the Congressional Dads Caucus, has acknowledged “personal mistakes” outside his marriage that hurt his family, but has maintained that any relationship was consensual and that he broke no House rules.He has said he will cooperate with the committee.Gonzales-Torres has also pointed to Gomez’s own words: In April, he stepped down as chair of Rep.
Eric Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign, saying Swalwell should leave the race “so there can be full accountability” amid allegations against him.Gomez finished first in the six-candidate June primary with about 46% of the vote.Gonzales-Torres took 30.7%, and Republican Calvin Lee placed third with about 13.7%.Gonzales-Torres, a Highland Park native who describes herself as the “daughter of a deportee raised by a single mother,” is a former president of the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council and served on Metro’s Public Safety Advisory Committee.
She was backed by DSA-LA and Justice Democrats and pledged to refuse corporate and super PAC mo...