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Jimmy Gomez

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For the Singaporean politician, see James Gomez (politician).

Jimmy Gomez
Official portrait, 2017
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 34th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 11, 2017
Preceded byXavier Becerra
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 51st district
In office
December 3, 2012 – July 11, 2017
Preceded bySteven Bradford
Succeeded byWendy Carrillo
Personal details
Born (1974-11-25) November 25, 1974 (age 50)
Orange County, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Mary Hodge
​
(m. 2011)​
Residence(s)Eagle Rock, Los Angeles
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Harvard University (MPP)
WebsiteHouse website

Jimmy Gomez (born November 25, 1974) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 34th congressional district since 2017. His district includes the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Eagle Rock, Boyle Heights, Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, and other communities. A member of the Democratic Party, Gomez served in the California State Assembly from 2012 to 2017.

Before entering electoral politics, Gomez was a labor organizer, serving as the legislative and political director for the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health-Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) and the political representative for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).[1][2]

Gomez serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, and is vice chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform.[3][4] He is a founding member of the Medicare for All Caucus.[5] He is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and the Congressional LGBTQ Equality Caucus.[6]

Early life and education

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Born and raised in Southern California, Gomez is the son of working-class immigrant parents.[7] His mother was a domestic worker and a nursing home laundry attendant.[8] His father was a bracero (farm worker).[9]

After graduating from high school, without any plans to attend college, Gomez worked at Subway and Target.[10] He eventually attended Riverside Community College and earned his B.A. in political science with a minor in urban planning from the University of California, Los Angeles and his M.A. in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

A former labor organizer, Gomez worked for the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) in 2009. He also served as the Political Representative for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

Gomez was a staffer for former U.S. Representative Hilda Solis.[11] He was elected to the California State Assembly in 2012, and served there until his election to Congress.

"To see her son not only go to college, graduate, but then to run for public office and get elected ... it means a lot. It means that there's still a lot of opportunities for immigrants ... It means we're part of this larger American story", said Gomez.[12]

California State Assembly

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Gomez's official California Assembly portrait

Gomez was a member of the California State Assembly, representing the 51st district. He was first elected in 2012, and reelected in 2014 with over 83% of the vote. California's 51st Assembly district includes Northeast Los Angeles and unincorporated East Los Angeles. He served as State Assembly Majority Whip from 2013 to 2014.

Gomez was a member of the California Latino Legislative Caucus. Before being elected to the Assembly in 2012, he was the political director for the United Nurses Association of California, an affiliate of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees.

U.S. House of Representatives

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Elections

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2017

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Main article: 2017 California's 34th congressional district special election

On December 5, 2016, Gomez announced his candidacy for the special election to succeed Xavier Becerra in the United States House of Representatives for California's 34th congressional district.[13] Gomez received endorsements from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate leader Kevin de León, among others.[14]

On April 4, 2017, Gomez came in first during the special election. Since he did not receive a majority of the vote, he faced a fellow Democrat, Los Angeles City Planning Commissioner Robert Lee Ahn, the runner-up, in a special runoff election on June 6. Gomez won with 60% of the vote. He is only the third person to represent this district since its creation in 1963 (it was numbered as the 30th from 1963 to 1975, the 25th from 1975 to 1993, the 30th from 1993 to 2003, the 31st from 2003 to 2013, and has been the 34th since 2017). Ed Roybal won this district in 1963 and handed it to Becerra in 1993.

2018

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Gomez faced Green Party candidate Kenneth Mejia in the general election and won with 72.5% of the vote.

2020

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Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in California § District 34

Gomez was challenged in the 2020 election by MacArthur Park Neighborhood Council board member and fellow Democrat David Kim. On November 3, Gomez defeated Kim in a closer than expected race, with 53% of the vote to Kim's 47%.[15]

2022

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Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in California § District 34

David Kim challenged Gomez again in 2022. Gomez won, but by a smaller margin than in 2020.[16]

On October 22, 2022, Los Angeles City Councilmember-elect Eunisses Hernandez alleged that a female canvasser for Gomez and Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo made anti-Asian comments about their challengers, David Kim, who is Korean-American, and Mia Livas Porter, who is Filipina-American, respectively, while visiting Hernandez's home. In late October 2022, a Highland Park voter made similar allegations except this time it involved two female canvassers. In response, both Gomez's and Carrillo's campaigns offered an apology to their challengers and reached out to Hernandez via Twitter and separate phone conversations assuring that they had taken action to ensure the canvasser(s)-in-question were no longer part of the campaign.[17]

Tenure

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Gomez's term began on June 6, 2017. He was sworn into office on July 11, 2017.[18][19]

On October 1, 2020, Gomez co-signed a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that condemned Azerbaijan’s offensive operations against the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, denounced Turkey’s role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and called for an immediate ceasefire.[20]

In November 2020, Gomez was named a candidate for United States Trade Representative in the Biden administration.[21]

In January 2021, Gomez introduced legislation to expel Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House for some of her social media postings from before her 2020 election to Congress.[22]

After Greene heckled President Biden at his State of the Union address on March 2, 2022, Gomez once again introduced a resolution of expulsion, but added Representative Lauren Boebert, who had joined her in the heckling. Gomez also spoke about the "triggering" feeling he experienced after he returned to the Congressional Gallery for the first time since right-wing insurrectionists had attacked those chambers in an attempt to halt the counting of electoral votes on January 6, 2021.[23]

Leadership posts

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Committee assignments

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For the 118th Congress:[24]

Caucuses

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Gomez is a member of several dozen caucuses. A full list is available at his website.

Political positions

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Abortion

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Gomez has a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America and an F rating from the Susan B. Anthony List for his abortion-related voting record.[28] Gomez opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade.[29]

Climate and environment

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Gomez received a lifetime score of 98% from the League of Conservation Voters based on 2017-2021 annual scores.[30] He has expressed support for a Green New Deal.[31][32]

Human and civil rights

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Gomez received a score of 100 from the Human Rights Campaign for both the 115th and 116th Congresses.[33] The American Civil Liberties Union gave him scores of 95% and 83% for the 115th and 116th Congresses, respectively.[34]

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

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Gomez was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[35]

Israel

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Gomez voted to support Israel following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[36][37] Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress in the Summer of 2024, Gomez called for Netanyahu to resign. Gomez's top donor in his 2024 campaign for California's 34th congressional district is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, who has spent millions of dollars targeting candidates that have been critical of Israel's military campaign in Gaza.[38][39] Gomez has not signed H. Res. 786, the proposed resolution in the House of Representatives which calls for an immediate ceasefire in the war in Gaza and the administration of humanitarian aid.[40]

Electoral history

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2014 California State Assembly election

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See also: 2014 California State Assembly election
California's 51st State Assembly district election, 2014
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jimmy Gomez (incumbent) 20,621 99.7
Republican Stephen C. Smith (write-in) 54 0.3
Total votes 20,675 100.0
General election
Democratic Jimmy Gomez (incumbent) 42,261 83.6
Republican Stephen C. Smith 8,277 16.4
Total votes 50,538 100.0
Democratic hold

2016 California State Assembly election

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See also: 2016 California State Assembly election
California's 51st State Assembly district election, 2016
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jimmy Gomez (incumbent) 62,366 100.0
Libertarian Mike Everling (write-in) 7 0.0
Total votes 62,373 100.0
General election
Democratic Jimmy Gomez (incumbent) 110,036 86.1
Libertarian Mike Everling 17,724 13.9
Total votes 127,760 100.0
Democratic hold

2017 congressional special election

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Main article: California's 34th congressional district special election, 2017
California's 34th congressional district special general election, 2017
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jimmy Gomez 25,569 59.2%
Democratic Robert Lee Ahn 17,610 40.8%
Total votes 43,179 100.00
Democratic hold

2018 congressional election

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Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in California § District 34
California's 34th congressional district election, 2018
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jimmy Gomez (incumbent) 54,661 78.7
Green Kenneth Mejia 8,987 12.9
Libertarian Angela Elise McArdle 5,804 8.4
Total votes 69,452 100.0
General election
Democratic Jimmy Gomez (incumbent) 110,195 72.5
Green Kenneth Mejia 41,711 27.5
Total votes 151,906 100.0
Democratic hold

New York Times Results

2020 congressional election

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Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in California § District 34
California's 34th congressional district, 2020[41][42]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jimmy Gomez (incumbent) 57,066 52.0
Democratic David Kim 23,055 21.0
Democratic Frances Yasmeen Motiwalla 14,961 13.6
Republican Joanne L. Wright 8,482 7.7
Democratic Keanakay Scott 6,089 5.6
Total votes 109,653 100.0
General election
Democratic Jimmy Gomez (incumbent) 108,792 53.0
Democratic David Kim 96,554 47.0
Total votes 205,346 100.0
Democratic hold

2022 congressional election

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Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in California § District 34
California's 34th congressional district, 2022[41]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jimmy Gomez (incumbent) 45,376 50.7
Democratic David Kim 34,921 39.0
Republican Clifton VonBuck 9,150 10.2
Total votes 89,447 100.0
General election
Democratic Jimmy Gomez (incumbent) 62,244 51.2
Democratic David Kim 59,223 48.8
Total votes 121,467 100.0
Democratic hold

Personal life

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Gomez is married to Mary Hodge, an aide to former Los Angeles mayor and current United States Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti.[43] They live in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles.[44]

Awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "UNAC/UHCP's Jimmy Gomez Headed to Congress". UNAC/UHCP. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  2. ^ "Nurses Union Hires New Political Director". UNAC/UHCP. February 26, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  3. ^ Jagoda, Naomi (January 14, 2019). "Dem added to Ways and Means Committee amid desire for more Hispanic members". The Hill. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  4. ^ "Congressman Jimmy Gomez Takes On Corruption". LATV. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  5. ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/repjimmygomez/status/1019948704340508683. Retrieved October 6, 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ "Committees, Leadership, and Caucuses | U.S. Representative Jimmy Gomez". gomez.house.gov. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  7. ^ Mai-Duc, Christine (February 21, 2017). "Half the candidates in L.A.'s latest congressional race have their own immigrant story. With Trump, this contest is personal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  8. ^ District, Rep Jimmy GomezRep Jimmy Gomez represents California's 34th Congressional; Diverse, Among the Most; Caucus, culturally rich districts in the country He is a member of the Congressional Hispanic; Ways, serves on the; Means; committees, Government Reform (November 26, 2019). "Opinion | Trump's immigration policies dishonor the refugees we now call Pilgrims". NBC News. Retrieved October 6, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Los Ángeles inaugura monumento a los braceros mexicanos". Conexión Migrante (in Mexican Spanish). October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  10. ^ Dyke, Jonathan Van (December 13, 2017). "UCLA Advocate In Action: U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez Embodies the Transformative Properties of Higher Education". Government & Community Relations. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  11. ^ "Gomez on What He Learned From Being a Staffer for a Latina Member". Roll Call. May 18, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  12. ^ "Jimmy Gomez on winning the 34th District: 'Was that a dream?'". Los Angeles Times. June 8, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  13. ^ Melanie Mason (December 5, 2016). "Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez joins race to succeed Rep. Xavier Becerra in Congress". Los Angeles Times.(subscription required)
  14. ^ Christine Mai-Duc (January 17, 2016). "Who's in and who's out in the race to replace Rep. Xavier Becerra in Congress". Los Angeles Times.(subscription required)
  15. ^ "California Election Results: 34th Congressional District". The New York Times. November 3, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  16. ^ "US Representative In Southern California: Who's Running and Why It Matters". LAist. May 11, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  17. ^ Huang, Josie (November 4, 2022). "Canvasser Controversy Erupts In LA Congressional Race For District 34". LAist. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  18. ^ Kyle Cheney (June 28, 2017). "Gomez to be sworn in to House on July 11". Politico.
  19. ^ Sarah D. Wire (July 11, 2017). "Jimmy Gomez sworn into Congress". Los Angeles Times.(subscription required)
  20. ^ "Senate and House Leaders to Secretary of State Pompeo: Cut Military Aid to Azerbaijan; Sanction Turkey for Ongoing Attacks Against Armenia and Artsakh". The Armenian Weekly. October 2, 2020.
  21. ^ Politico Staff (November 7, 2020). "Meet the contenders for Biden's Cabinet". Politico. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  22. ^ Choi, Matthew (January 27, 2021). "Rep. Jimmy Gomez drafts resolution to oust Marjorie Taylor Greene from Congress". Politico. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  23. ^ Rep. Gomez: Reps. Greene and Boebert heckling Biden was 'disgusting', MSNBC, March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  24. ^ "Jimmy Gomez". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  25. ^ "Caucus Members". Congressional Progressive Caucus. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  26. ^ "Members". Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Archived from the original on May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  27. ^ "Members". Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  28. ^ "Jimmy Gomez". SBA Pro-Life America. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  29. ^ Gomez, Jimmy (June 24, 2022). Twitter https://twitter.com/RepJimmyGomez/status/1540339563004051457. Retrieved June 28, 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. ^ "Check out Representative Jimmy Gomez's Environmental Voting Record". League of Conservation Voters Scorecard. February 14, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  31. ^ "Congressman Jimmy Gomez Announces Support for Green New Deal at Town Hall". U.S. Representative Jimmy Gomez. February 9, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  32. ^ Gomez, Jimmy. "Jimmy Gomez". www.congress.gov. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  33. ^ "Congressional Scorecard". Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  34. ^ "Legislative Scorecard for Jimmy Gomez". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  35. ^ Gans, Jared (May 31, 2023). "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". The Hill. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  36. ^ Demirjian, Karoun (October 25, 2023). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  37. ^ Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (October 25, 2023). "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved October 30, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  38. ^ "Rep. Jimmy Gomez − Campaign Finance Summary". OpenSecrets. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  39. ^ Kelly, Kate; Vogel, Kenneth. "Pro-Israel Lobby Faces Challenges Amid Gaza War and Shifting Politics". Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  40. ^ "H.Res.786 - Calling for an immediate deescalation and cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine". Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  41. ^ a b "STATEMENT OF VOTE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ELECTION MARCH 3, 2020" (PDF). California Secretary of State Alex Padilla. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  42. ^ "November 3, 2020, General Election - United States Representative" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  43. ^ Mai-Duc, Christine (June 8, 2017). "Jimmy Gomez on winning the 34th District: 'Was that a dream?'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  44. ^ Lundquist, Paulette (October 25, 2017). "Gomez". The Hill. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  45. ^ "NHMC Impact: Washington D.C." NHMC.org.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jimmy Gomez.
California Assembly
Preceded by Member of the California Assembly
from the 51st district
2012–2017 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 34th congressional district
2017–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
212th 		Succeeded by
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