Allegations against Rep. Jimmy Gomez fuel momentum for DSA-backed challenger Gonzales-Torres – Los Angeles Times

Allegations against Rep. Jimmy Gomez fuel momentum for DSA-backed challenger Gonzales-Torres  Los Angeles Times

Rep. Jimmy Gomez’s reelection bid, once helped by his high-profile fight against President Trump's immigration policies, is in peril as he tries to recover from allegations of sexual misconduct. The accusations, which Gomez denies, have left the 51-year-old Eagle Rock Democrat vulnerable to an upstart challenger from Highland Park who earned a reputation for antagonism while serving on the area’s neighborhood council. Angela Gonzales-Torres, 31, is seizing on Gomez's issues in the race to represent California’s 34th Congressional District, a Latino-majority territory spanning Koreatown, Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, Glassell Park and adjacent neighborhoods. Gonzales-Torres, who has worked part-time jobs as an academic counselor for formerly incarcerated students and at an affordable housing development, is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America and counts support from other national progressive organizations.

Over the last week, she campaigned at UC Berkeley alongside fellow progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont), appeared on left-wing streamer Hasan Piker’s show and rallied in Los Angeles with Parkland, Fla., school shooting survivor and activist David Hogg. Gonzales-Torres has linked the accusation against Gomez to the politician's onetime ally former Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Bay Area Democrat who saw his campaign for governor derailed when several women came forward with allegations of impropriety. Swalwell has also denied wrongdoing. “We’re going to take on this apparent culture in Congress in