LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis wins open California House seat

Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis (D) is projected to win the seat to lead California’s 38th Congressional District, drawn up after Golden State voters passed the state’s redistricting ballot measure last year, according to preliminary results from Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ).

Solis defeated Republican Pedro Casas as the two sought to lead a district formerly led by Rep. Linda Sanchez (D), who filed to run in California’s 41st Congressional District after voters approved Proposition 50 last November. The two ran in a district that the Cook Political Report said was solidly in favor of Democrats.

With nearly 60 percent of ballots counted, Solis had captured 66 percent of the vote, DDHQ reported .

The 38th District straddles Los Angeles and Orange counties, encompassing cities like Diamond Bar, Industry, Pico Rivera, Montebello and Whittier, which includes the family home of former President Nixon.

A native Angeleno, Solis campaigned on defending communities she said were “under assault by the Trump administration –– and I won’t just stand by and let it happen.” She ran on defending women’s reproductive rights, organized labor, immigrant rights and access to healthcare.

“I wish Proposition 50 wasn’t necessary – but Trump and his allies in Texas and elsewhere are undermining our democracy,” she said on her campaign website , referring to California’s state measure redrawing its congressional map approved by voters last year. “We must fight fire with fire, because too much is at stake.”

Solis secured several endorsements from Democratic leaders across the state, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, and Chicano rights icon and leader Dolores Huerta.

Solis previously served as former President Obama’s Labor secretary during his first term. Before that, she served in the House from 2001 to 2009, representing California’s 31st and 33rd districts. She became the first Hispanic woman elected to the California state Senate in 1994.