The Winner

Rep. Luz Rivas (D-CA) has won a second term representing California’s 29th U.S. House District, defeating fellow Democrat Angélica María Dueñas in the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election. The Associated Press called the race for Rivas on Thursday, Nov. 5. ​

Rivas has 90,208 votes (58.1%) to Dueñas’ 65,051 (41.9%), a lead of about 16 points, in the latest unofficial count from the California Secretary of State. Both finalists were Democrats, so the party was guaranteed to keep the seat no matter who won.

The Race

Rivas and Dueñas advanced from California’s June 2 top-two primary, where every candidate runs on one ballot and the two leading vote-getters move on regardless of party. Rivas took 51.0% in that primary and Dueñas took 24.9%, according to Ballotpedia. Republican Rudy Melendez missed second place by 1,107 votes. The general election was Dueñas’ third run for the seat, after she lost to former Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D) in 2020 and 2022. Cook Political Reportrated the race Solid D before the election.

The race used the new district lines California voters approved in November 2025 through Proposition 50. The redrawn district covers part of the city of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley, plus all of the city of San Fernando, according to the California Senate Office of Demographics.

About 734,800 people live in the district, and about 65% of residents are Hispanic. Median household income is about $75,800, and the median age is about 36.5. About 24.7% of adults hold at least a bachelor’s degree, unemployment is about 8.1%, and about 16.6% of residents live below the poverty line.

What’s Next

Rivas’ new term begins Sunday, Jan. 3, 2027, and she will represent the new district lines from that day. Ballots are still being counted, and the state is set to certify results by Friday, Dec. 11.

In a candidate questionnaire published Oct. 5 by the Los Angeles Daily News, Rivas said she plans to reintroduce the Multigenerational Family Tax Credit Act and keep pushing it. The current version would give families a refundable tax credit for half the cost of safety and accessibility upgrades for aging relatives who live with them, up to $8,000 a year, according to her office’s announcement of the bill. The bill hasn’t moved since Feb. 13, when it was sent to the House Ways and Means Committee, the panel that writes tax law. Any bill that doesn’t pass dies when the current Congress ends.

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