A newly elected democratic socialist from Los Angeles says she isn’t ready to endorse Rep. Hakeem Jeffries for House Speaker, saying her voters want courage and change.
“As of right now, my vote is no,” Angela Gonzales-Torres told Democracy Now on Monday, referring to what the show called her first national TV interview.
Gonzales-Torres, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, defeated Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a fellow Democrat, in the November 3rd election for California’s 34th Congressional District. The district includes downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, Boyle Heights, and Eagle Rock.
Gonzales-Torres will be one of six newly elected DSA members heading to the House, bringing the total number of DSA members in Congress to eight, according to Democracy Now. They join as Democrats take control of the House, putting House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York in position to become the next Speaker when the new Congress opens in January 2027. If Jeffries wins, he will be the first black speaker in the chamber’s history.
Her statement highlights splits within the Democratic Party on who should lead and what it should focus on. Gonzales-Torres said Medicare for All, immigrant justice, and fighting corruption and corporate influence in politics would be her priorities in Congress.
The program’s host referred directly to the leadership battle. “Can you talk about the race for the House leader, for the House speaker?” the host asked. “I mean, you have a real controversy brewing. In the Senate, it’s around Chuck Schumer, now the Democratic minority leader. In the House, it’s Hakeem Jeffries. And will you be endorsing him for House speaker?”
The host also pointed out the growing pressure from the left on Jeffries.
“In our headlines just now, we talked about progressives demanding new leadership. An online petition urging Democratic Congressmember Hakeem Jeffries to remove himself from the running to become next House speaker, has surpassed 1 million signatures, facing mounting opposition over his pro-Israel interests, continued acceptance of corporate PAC money, including from AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee,” the host said. “Your thoughts?”
Gonzales-Torres said she has not heard what Jeffries will offer her district in exchange for its support.
“I know for sure that over 100,000 Angelenos voted for courage; they voted for change,” she said. “And I think that what I don’t know is what Representative Hakeem Jeffries is offering my community and constituents of California’s 34th Congressional District for their vote.”
Gonzales-Torres said she was different from the congressman she defeated.
“I think I know for sure that the incumbent would have rolled over and handed over the vote without keeping our community in mind, without one community conversation,” she said. “And that is not the case anymore. Those days are behind us.”
“And so respectfully, Representative Hakeem Jeffries will have to work for our vote,” she said.
Jeffries officially launched his campaign for speaker in a letter to colleagues on November 4. House Democrats told Axios last week that he remains the overwhelming favorite for the job, with no one signaling a challenge.
Gonzales-Torres was born in Los Angeles’s Highland Park neighborhood. Her father, an auto mechanic, was deported to Mexico when she was 15, Democracy Now reported.
