Hogg Group Takes On Jimmy Gomez

A group co-founded by former Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg is endorsing a progressive challenger to Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez, whose sexual assault allegation and House ethics probe have become central to her campaign.

Leaders We Deserve, which is dedicated to electing young Democrats, said 31-year-old Angela Gonzales-Torres represents a new generation of leaders taking on the Democratic establishment — and that the allegations against Gomez have become a distraction for the party. Gomez has acknowledged cheating on his wife in the past but said the encounters were always consensual and did not violate House rules.

“Establishment politicians like Jimmy Gomez wrap themselves up in disgusting, predatory sex scandals that not only make them unfit to serve in Congress, but distract Democrats from what they should be focusing on: reversing the astronomical cost of living caused by this administration,” Hogg said in a statement wading into the race, first reported here.

Gomez, a more mainstream Southern California Democrat, has repeatedly faced challenges from the left, with opponents assailing his support from industry groups and pro-Israel interests. Hogg last year roiled the DNC with his pledge to take down “ineffective, asleep-at-the-wheel” Democrats, and this cycle steered millions of dollars toward young progressives in primaries across the map.

The organization has not yet announced any financial commitment to Gonzales-Torres, but its PAC spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on other House candidates it endorsed in California primaries this year. It helped Bernie Sanders-backed progressive Randy Villegas defeat a moderate Democrat in the primary in frontline Republican Rep. David Valadao’s district, but failed to power a young progressive through her primary against Republican-turned-independent Rep. Kevin Kiley. It has also endorsed a challenger to Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui, who will face the incumbent again in November.

Hogg, a Gen Z party activist and survivor of the Parkland high school shooting, said Gonzales-Torres mirrors other Leaders We Deserve-supported candidates because she is focused on “bringing down costs, taxing the rich, and fighting back against ICE” while “not doing the bidding of AIPAC or the AI lobby.”