As Rep. Jimmy Gomez Stumbles, Angela Gonzales-Torres Surges
ELECTION 2026 - There’s a longstanding, simple warning for politicians who get on the wrong side of their constituents: When you’re in a hole, stop digging.
This reminder takes on new meaning for Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a five-term incumbent in the U.S. House representing California’s 34th Congressional District, which takes in East L.A. and much of Northeast L.A., Downtown, and Koreatown.
Since June, Gomez has seen a formidable advantage over progressive Democrat and challenger Angela Gonzales-Torres, an advocate for at-risk youth and resident of Highland Park, evaporate in the contest to serve the Eastside in Congress.
Gomez is embroiled in a scandal of his own making involving allegations of sexual assault following an extramarital affair with a staffer of former Rep. Eric Swalwell. Swalwell flamed out in April in his bid to become governor and quickly resigned a seat in Congress from the Bay Area following multiple accounts of sexual harassment and worse over several years, which finally came out through diligent news reporting. Many Angelenos learned for the first time amid Swalwell’s implosion that Rep. Gomez had served as his campaign chair.
His progressive challenger, Angela Gonzales-Torres, topped 30 percent in the primary to earn a spot in the fall runoff against the incumbent. In August 2025 she joined members of East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD) at a well-attended protest outside Home Depot in Cypress Park calling for a boycott of the retail chain for enabling warrantless ambushes by armed, masked federal agents on customers and day laborers on or near Home Depot premises. The rousing EAPD rally including Gonzales-Torres followed the killing days earlier of Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez on the 210 Freeway in Monrovia by a vehicle as he was chased from a Home Depot by masked agents.
One year later, in August 2026, Angela Gonzales-Torres earned the endorsement of her fellow members of EAPD with 91 percent of the vote. Rep. Gomez earned just one vote. He did not attend the EAPD meeting or send a speaker on his behalf, despite the fact that Congress was on recess and the EAPD meeting venue is just one block from his residence in Eagle Rock.
Also in August, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and two other officials in the Democratic caucus issued a joint statement about the accusations of sexual wrongdoing facing Rep. Gomez and prompting scrutiny of him by the House Ethics Committee. “The allegations of misconduct are serious and disturbing,” they announced publicly.
Grassroots Democrats in the 34th Congressional District, including more than a dozen members of EAPD, signed a petition, joined by nearly 200 additional California Democrats, calling for the state Democratic Party to retract its official endorsement of Rep. Gomez in light of the very serious allegations acknowledged by party leaders in Congress.
While the state party itself did not act on the petition, one local club, the L.A. County Young Democrats, an establishment entity that typically aligns with party insiders, broke from the status quo and officially renounced its endorsement of Rep. Gomez.
Even before the allegations of his own sexual misconduct engulfed Rep. Gomez, he had been on a kind of political probation by constituents for the past four years. In 2022, he only narrowly secured a fourth term, vanquishing progressive challenger and attorney David Y. Kim by just 3,000 votes, or 51 to 49 percent. Advocates for public schools, led by two local teachers, excoriated Rep. Gomez at the time for siding with candidates who promoted charter schools, not inclusive public schools, which don’t discriminate against students with disabilities or special needs.
This election may bring a reckoning over how Rep. Gomez has gone astray and his hold on the job representing the 34th District in Congress.
This weekend, several residents of Mt. Washington, a high point in the heart of the 34th District, will host a block party for Angela Gonzales-Torres. Among the host committee are Mt. Washington-based blogger and progressive social-media activist Jessica Craven, the former Congressional challenger David Y. Kim, former local Assembly candidate and criminal justice reform advocate Franky Carrillo, and outspoken LGBTQ+ Navy veteran Dave Lara.
To join in the block party this Sunday, Sept. 27, from 2 to 5 pm, and meet the candidate Angie Gonzales-Torres, while enjoying live music and free refreshments, click HERE.
Many voters in Eastside and Northeast L.A. are fed up with watching an incumbent dig a hole for himself. With change in the air this autumn, they are building a path to Congress for a newcomer in hopes that she can replace him.
(Hans Johnson is a longtime advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, environmental justice, and public education. His columns have appeared in USA Today and leading newspapers across more than 20 states. Based in Eagle Rock, he serves as president of East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD), California’s largest grassroots Democratic club with over 1,100 members. Hans brings decades of organizing and policy experience to his work, advancing equity and accountability in local and national politics.)
