FILE: U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez speaks at the rally to Say No to Tax Breaks for Billionaires & Corporations at the U.S. Capitol on April 10, 2025, in Washington, DC.

A Los Angeles House seat that has been safely held over the past decade has turned competitive after incumbent Rep. Jimmy Gomez was accused of sexual assault, potentially allowing a socialist opponent to unseat the veteran Democrat this November. 

Gomez’s opponent, Angela Gonzales-Torres, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has repeatedly made the sexual assault allegations part of her campaign, telling the LA Times in August “we need to get creeps out of office,” while also calling for his resignation. One poll shows Gonzales-Torres with a narrow lead in the race to represent California’s 34th District, which encompasses parts of many urban and diverse Los Angeles neighborhoods, including East LA, Koreatown, Downtown LA and Boyle Heights. 

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Gomez previously said he made “personal mistakes” outside of his marriage, but denies any wrongdoing and maintains that the relationship was consensual. 

“That doesn’t diminish the impact that these mistakes have made on those I care about the most,” Gomez said, according to the New York Times. “I take full responsibility and have committed myself to working through the pain privately with my wife and family.”

Gomez has historically won the backing of progressive groups and supports progressive measures like Medicare for All, but even his progressive bona fides are coming into question. Gonzales-Torres, a millennial socialist, is using sky-high rent prices and healthcare for all as centerpieces of her campaign at a time when socialists are seeing increasing support from voters.

Sexual misconduct allegations

The allegations first surfaced in April when the New York Post reported that Gomez in 2023 was seen kissing a younger staffer, who worked for another House member, at a party in Sacramento. A spokesperson for Gomez told the publication that ​​it was “not true” and the kiss “didn’t happen.” The Post later identified the staffer, who is two decades younger than Gomez, as the chief of staff for Rep. Eric Swalwell, who has been entangled in his own legal saga after........

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