special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

was held on June 6, 2017, to elect the member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for

California's 34th congressional district California's 34th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in California. Located in Los Angeles County, the district is represented by Democrat Jimmy Gomez. Its previous U.S. representative, Democrat Xavier Becerra of Los Ange ...

. A special open primary election was held on April 4, 2017.

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Representative

Xavier Becerra Xavier Becerra (; born January 26, 1958) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services, a position he held from March 19, 2021 to January 20, 2025. He is the first Latino to h ...

, nominated by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

to succeed

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

, was confirmed as

Attorney General of California The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" ( Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). ...

on January 23, 2017. Harris, who was elected to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

to succeed

Barbara Boxer Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is a retired American politician, lobbyist, and former reporter who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United St ...

, resigned as attorney general on January 3, 2017. Democrats

Jimmy Gomez Jimmy Gomez (born November 25, 1974) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 2017. His district includes the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, Eagle Rock ...

and Robert Lee Ahn advanced to the runoff. Gomez defeated Ahn 59.22% to 40.78%.

Candidates

Democratic Party

Upon the announcement of incumbent representative

's selection as

John Pérez John A. Pérez (born September 28, 1969) is an American union organizer and politician. He has been a Regent of the University of California since November 17, 2014, previously serving as the 68th Speaker of the California State Assembly from M ...

, the former Speaker of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

, announced his candidacy to succeed him in the House of Representatives. He soon withdrew from the race, citing a recent health diagnosis.

Declared

* Robert Lee Ahn, attorney and Los Angeles City planning commissioner * Vanessa Aramayo, former congressional aide and former California Assembly aide * Maria Cabildo, former Los Angeles City planning commissioner and director of homeless initiatives at the LA County Community Development Commission & Housing Authority, Co-founder of East LA Community Corporation * Alejandra Campoverdi, former

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

aide for

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

* Arturo Carmona, former

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

staff member * Wendy Carrillo, labor activist and radio host * Ricardo De La Fuente, businessman and son of

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

presidential candidate

Rocky De La Fuente Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente Guerra (born October 10, 1954) is an American businessman who has sought elected office. A perennial candidate, De La Fuente was the Reform Party nominee in the 2016 and 2020 United States presidential elections; he a ...

* Yolie Flores, former

Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...

board member * Melissa "Sharkie" Garza, filmmaker and businesswoman *

, state assemblyman * Sara Hernandez, former public school teacher, attorney, nonprofit founder, and former district director and special counsel to LA City Council Member Jose Huizar. * Steven Mac, Los Angeles County Deputy

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

* Sandra Mendoza, candidate for the State Assembly in 2014 and 2016 * Raymond Meza, SEIU labor organizer * Armando Sotomayor, activist * Richard Joseph Sullivan, attorney * Tracy Van Houten, aerospace engineer * Tenaya Wallace, public relations strategist

Withdrew

, former Speaker of the

* Dr. Jason Ahn, Physician at UCLA

Declined

* Gil Cedillo,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

City Councilman *

Kevin de León Kevin Alexander Leon (born December 10, 1966), known professionally as Kevin de León and colloquially as KDL, is an American politician who served as the Los Angeles City Council member for District 14 from 2020 until 2024. A member of the Dem ...

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

and

President pro tempore of the California State Senate The president pro tempore of the California State Senate (President Pro Tem) is the chief executive and highest-ranking member the California State Senate and serves as chair of the Senate Rules Committee. The Pro Tem is chosen at the beginning of ...

* Monica Garcia, Los Angeles School Board member *

José Huizar José Luis Huizar (born September 10, 1968) is a Mexican-American former politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 2005 to 2020. Huizar was elected on November 8, 2005, in a special election to fill the seat vacated ...

, Los Angeles City Councilman * Jesse Leon, aide to Los Angeles City Councilman

Holly Mitchell Holly J. Mitchell (born September 7, 1964) is an American politician currently serving as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. A California Democratic Party, Democrat, Mitchell served as a State Senator for California's Cali ...

, state senator *

Nick Pacheco Lauro "Nick" Pacheco Jr. (born February 9, 1964) is an American disbarred lawyer, politician, and a member of the Democratic Party. Pacheco served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council (1999–2003). Prior to serving on the Los Angeles Ci ...

, former Los Angeles City Councilman and candidate for

Los Angeles County District Attorney The District Attorney of Los Angeles County is in charge of the office that prosecutor, prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within Los Angeles County, California, United States. The current district attorney (DA) is Nathan Hochma ...

in 2004 *

David Ryu David Eun Seok Ryu (; born 1975) is an American politician, who served as the Los Angeles City Councilman for Los Angeles City Council District 4, District 4 from 2015 to 2020.Miguel Santiago, state assemblyman

Republican Party

Declared

* William Rodriguez Morrison, apartment building manager and perennial candidate

Green Party

Declared

Kenneth Mejia Kenneth Mejia (born November 7, 1990) is an American activist, Certified Public Accountant, accountant, and politician, serving as the Los Angeles City Controller, City Controller of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (Unit ...

, certified public accountant and candidate for this seat in

Libertarian Party

Declared

* Angela McArdle, litigation paralegal and legal aide

Independents

Declared

* Mark Padilla, law office administrator

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Runoff

Endorsements

Results

References

{{California elections California 2017 34 California 2017 34 2017 34 Special California 34 Special United States House of Representatives 34 Special United States House of Representatives 2017 34

Candidates

Democratic Party

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Republican Party

Declared

Green Party

Declared

Libertarian Party

Declared

Independents

Declared

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Runoff

Endorsements

Results

See also

References