Democratic U.S. Rep. Gomez triumphs in California district

Democratic U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez has defeated rival Democrat David Kim in a Los Angeles district after a battle on the party’s progressive flank

Democratic U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez defeated rival Democrat David Kim on Saturday in a Los Angeles district after a battle on the party’s progressive flank.

With nearly all the ballots counted, Gomez had 51.3% to 48.7% for Kim, or a margin of about 3,000 votes.

The race was a rematch from 2020 when Gomez defeated Kim, an immigration lawyer. Under California’s primary rules, only the top two finishers advance to the November election, which set up the fight between two Democrats.

The heavily Democratic 34th District is a diverse, urban mishmash of neighborhoods that cuts across income, racial and ethnic groups. It includes downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown and heavily Latino Boyle Heights.

Fewer than 1 in 10 voters in the district are Republicans, over 60% are Democrats and most of the remainder are independents who lean Democratic.

Earlier this week, Republicans regained overall control of the House by reaching the 218 seat threshold for a majority. The outcome in the Los Angeles district doesn't sway the balance of control since both candidates were Democrats.

Counting is not yet finished in a handful of other undecided races.

Gomez’s campaign touted him as “the proven progressive who delivers for us,” and his website includes photographs of him with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It spotlights that he supports Medicare-for-all and Green New Deal climate change proposals.

Kim supported so-called universal basic income checks of $1,000 a month for every adult, Medicare-for-all and building 12 million publicly funded housing units over 10 years.