Overview

• Justice Democrats formally backed Angela Gonzales-Torres on Thursday in California’s deep-blue 34th District and pledged to deploy its grassroots fundraising network.
• The contest is being cast as a proxy fight over Israel policy and big-money influence, after AIPAC spent more than half a million dollars against Gomez’s 2024 opponent and crypto PAC FairShake spent $511,000 to support Gomez.
• Gonzales-Torres rejects corporate PAC money and is campaigning on affordable housing, mental-health access, immigrant protections, Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and criminal justice reform.
• Gomez’s record on Israel has been mixed, including a call for a cessation of hostilities and some critical votes, while he did not sign an early ceasefire resolution and has drawn praise and help from pro-Israel groups.
• The majority-Latino, renter-heavy district has seen repeated progressive challenges; David Kim, whom Gomez defeated in 2020, 2022, and 2024, has endorsed Gonzales-Torres, and several candidates have filed for the race.