Six candidates have declared for the June 2 primary election in California’s 34th Congressional District, including incumbent Jimmy Gomez. Gomez, a Democrat endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, seeks re-election for the sixth time. The top two candidates, regardless of party, will progress to the Nov. 3 general election.
Angela Gonzales-Torres, a candidate in the race, is endorsed by Justice Democrats, a prominent progressive political action committee. Gonzales-Torres said over email she is running for Congress because she does not believe status quo politics are good enough for CA-34.
“Our community is hungry for change and real representation,” Gonzales-Torres said.
Gonzales-Torres said her father was deported when she was fifteen, leaving her family to struggle with housing insecurity. Because of this experience, Gonzales-Torres said she understands the struggling families in the district.
“My life’s work has been rooted in building a future where the next generation has more of a fighting chance than I feel I did when I inherited this broken two-party system we are wrestling with today,” Gonzales-Torres said.
Gonzales-Torres said she views CA-34 as the heart of LA.
“I was born and raised in East Los Angeles,” Gonzales-Torres said. “Unlike nearly anyone else in this race, I didn’t move to this district to become a politician and certainly not one nearly fully funded by corporate super PACs like the incumbent.”
According to Gonzales-Torres, her focus is getting corporate money out of politics.
“We deserve community-informed decisions that puts people and the planet before profit,” Gonzales-Torres said.
Gonzales-Torres said she supports Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, small business protections and ending U.S. weapons funding for wars abroad.
“Our tax dollars should be building housing, healthcare, and opportunity here at home,” Gonzales-Torres said.
Gonzales-Torres said she hopes to bring leadership rooted in moral clarity to the race for CA-34’s congressional seat.
“My connection to CA-34 isn’t political, it’s personal,” Gonzales-Torres said. “It tells me this: it’s time for change, it’s time for courage, and it’s up to us.”
Rob Lucero, also a candidate in the race, said he is running to become a leader in the Democratic Party.
“I’m very concerned with the state of the country, and I’m concerned with the state of Congress and the Democratic Party,” Lucero said.
Lucero previously ran for Senate as a Republican, according to his website. Lucero said he nevertheless identifies as a lifelong Democrat.
“The short time that I was in the Republican Party, it was to try to get the dying Republican Party to join me, not the other way around,” Lucero said.
If Lucero wins, he will be the first member of Congress to represent CA-34 after growing up in the district, he said.
“I used to walk to the Oxy campus every day to go to school,” Lucero said. “[My family has] been here five generations.”
According to Lucero, his campaign addresses infrastructure problems, homelessness and fire danger.
“In our history as a nation, we wait too long to deal with these [issues] until there’s a real crisis like the Depression or World War II,” Lucero said. “A lot of our infrastructure […] goes back to that era.”
Lucero said community banking is another top priority for his campaign.
“There should be about 10 more local banks that are in just Eagle Rock and Highland Park alone,” Lucero said. “The important thing about this is these are the banks that can actually look a community member in the face and say ‘Putting aside your credit rating, we know you’re right here down the street, we want you to have a business [and] support.’”
Loren Colin, an independent in the running for CA-34, said he is a progressive option for voters.
“I have been a lifelong independent going back to 1996, because starting with Bill Clinton, I have watched the Democratic Party move away from the party of FDR,” Colin said.
Colin said he grew up spending time with his grandmother in CA-34, going to Dodgers games and getting french dip at Phillipe The Original.
“I have lived, worked, eaten and partied in this district for 30 years,” Colin said. “We have the best people in Los Angeles in our district, and the best food and the best event spaces.”
According to Colin, his campaign prioritizes four issues: taxing the wealthy, healthcare for all, creating more homes and abolishing ICE.
“Walking around [CA-34,] the number of people who don’t have health care […] is frightening,” Colin said. “We need something that is truly universal, and I can make that happen.”
Colin said his policies are Jeffersonian.
“We get the government we deserve,” Colin said. “I want to help convince Americans that we can actually create the government that best serves us.”
Contact Quinn Sumerlin at sumerlin@oxy.edu
