Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis is running for Congress — should voters later this year OK a mid-cycle redistricting proposal that will change congressional district boundaries for the next three elections.
Solis is running for what would be California’s 38th Congressional District, should voters pass Proposition 50, her campaign exclusively told the Southern California News Group on Thursday.
Solis, a veteran politician in the area whose Board of Supervisors district spans from East L.A. through the San Gabriel Valley, formed a campaign committee called Hilda Solis for Congress on Wednesday, Aug. 27, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Solis previously served in the House and as a U.S. Department of Labor secretary under the Obama administration, and her campaign is touting her lengthy political resume, billing Solis as a “proven fighter” who could represent the new district.
“The working people of Southern California are under assault by the Trump administration — and I won’t just stand by and let it happen,” Solis said in a statement Thursday.
“As the president attacks workers, immigrants, educators, housing that working people can afford, women’s reproductive rights, veterans’ services, labor unions, the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid/Medi-Cal and democracy itself, we must fight back,” Solis added. “I’ve been standing up for the people — and against Trump — as a supervisor, and now it’s time to campaign for the House and fight for the people and democracy in the Congress.”
Before Solis made it official, pundits buzzed for weeks that she’s been making calls to allies about the viability of a return to Washington, D.C., to serve as the representative for the 38th Congressional District, based on proposed congressional maps that won’t take effect unless California voters approve them in a November special election.
The proposed 38th District sweeps around L.A. County to include Bell, Commerce, El Monte, Diamond Bar, Hacienda Heights, Montebello, Pico Rivera and West Whittier. It would also pick up Yorba Linda in Orange County.
This district, according to the proposed maps, would include 45% registered Democratic voters, 30% no party preference/other and 24% Republican.
The proposed partisan maps are meant to offset Republican gains in Texas, where at President Donald Trump’s behest, that state’s Republican-led legislature last week approved a layout that would bolster the number of GOP seats in Congress, to create an edge for Republicans in next year’s midterm elections.
In anticipation of that very action by Texas Republicans, the California Legislature last week approved new gerrymandered maps that favor Democrats. The California maps, however, won’t take effect unless voters in the state give the OK, and they would only be in place for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections. After that, California would be back to using an independent commission to draw congressional boundary lines.
“I wish Proposition 50 wasn’t necessary — but Trump and his allies in Texas and across the nation are undermining our democracy. We must fight fire with fire, because too much is at stake,” Solis said.
Solis was in El Monte on Thursday to promote a “Restaurant Week” event. She didn’t announce her candidacy then, but said people want to see government reform, with a particular emphasis on immigration.
“They want to see that they have security, safety, and that they’re taken care of and they’re not picked on and harassed just because of how they look, and that because they look like they’re foreign, but they’re not,” she said.
“This whole country was made up of immigrants, and that’s our strength and beauty.”
While Solis, 67, has spent 11 years on the non-partisan Board of Supervisors, she would be no stranger to the national scene. She served in the U.S. House of Representatives in the early 2000s, representing the San Gabriel Valley, before President Barack Obama chose her to join his Cabinet as secretary of labor in 2009.
Raised in La Puente to immigrant parents, Solis became an early advocate for worker rights, a theme that would continue through her years in public service, from the Rio Hondo Board of Trustees to the California Legislature to Congress.
In L.A. County, the area has long skewed majority Democratic. Blue districts get bluer, under the new proposed maps. Experts expect a Democrat to win the seat no matter what.
Given Solis’ name recognition and footing in the area, she would be highly favored.
“I think Hilda Solis is a force of nature that will definitely be the frontrunner for this seat,” said Michael Trujillo, a Democratic strategist.
But, he added, across the country, high-profile, long-established Democratic leaders have seen challenges, often from their left, such as in the San Fernando Valley, where Rep. Brad Sherman is being challenged.
“I wouldn’t be surprised, based on the national trends we’ve been seeing,” Trujillo said of a potential challenger to Solis.
Solis already has the backing of several prominent local elected Democratic officials, her campaign noted, including Reps. Judy Chu, Lou Correa, Laura Friedman, Robert Garcia and Luz Rivas. She also has the backing of L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, Sheriff Robert Luna, State Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez and Dolores Huerta, co-founder of United Farm Workers of America.