Los Angeles County voters in deep-blue districts elected three new Democrats to the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The Associated Press called three congressional races in favor of Luz Rivas in the San Fernando Valley, Laura Friedman in central Los Angeles and Gil Cisneros in the San Gabriel Valley.
All three were running in districts with no incumbent seeking reelection.
29th Congressional District: Luz Rivas
Luz Rivas will be the first Latina to represent the 29th Congressional District in the San Fernando Valley, replacing Rep. Tony Cárdenas, who decided last year not to seek reelection.
The safely Democratic district includes the city of San Fernando and nearly a dozen Los Angeles neighborhoods, including North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Sun Valley and Sylmar.
Rivas defeated Republican Benito “Benny” Bernal, a longtime Valley resident and community advocate who has run for Congress and the Los Angeles City Council several times before.
Rivas previously spent six years in the state Assembly, where she focused on environmental issues, and ran a Pacoima-based nonprofit organization that encourages girls to pursue careers in science, math and engineering.
30th Congressional District: Laura Friedman
Glendale Democrat Laura Friedman will fill the central Los Angeles seat vacated by Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), who was elected Tuesday to the U.S. Senate.
The district covers a large swath of central Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley and is home to several major Hollywood studios, as well as some of the county’s best-known landmarks, including the Rose Bowl, the Griffith Observatory and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Friedman defeated Republican Alex Balekian, a first-time candidate who works as a doctor. Previously, she worked as a film and television executive before entering politics in her 40s, winning a seat on the Glendale City Council and then a state Assembly seat in 2016.
31st Congressional District: Gil Cisneros
San Gabriel Valley voters elected a new member of Congress for the first time in a generation Tuesday to replace longtime Democratic Rep. Grace F. Napolitano, who is retiring.
Gil Cisneros defeated Republican Daniel Martinez in the race to represent a safely Democratic district that includes West Covina, El Monte, Baldwin Park and Glendora.
Cisernos won a $266-million Mega Millions jackpot in 2010, two weeks after being laid off from his job at Frito-Lay. He loaned his campaign $5.45 million this year, federal filings show, and muscled out of a competitive primary.
Although he’s new to the 31st District, Cisneros is returning to Congress: He served one term representing a district that spanned portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties before losing to Republican Rep. Young Kim in 2020.