California's Congressional District 29 election voter guide

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Unlike some of the races playing out nearby, the competition to decide who will represent California’s 29th Congressional District will not factor into which party controls Congress next year. Nonetheless, this safely Democratic seat, which President Biden won in 2020 by more than 50 percentage points, will be fiercely fought over partially because whoever wins will have the opportunity to hold the seat for a long time.

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Who are the candidates?

Luz Rivas, Democrat, Assembly member

It was a bit of a surprise when Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Pacoima), who has held the seat since 2013, announced his retirement last fall. The longtime San Fernando Valley politician tried and failed to gain a spot in congressional leadership. He has endorsed a longtime ally, Assemblymember Rivas (D-North Hollywood), to replace him.

Rivas founded DIY Girls, an education nonprofit in the community focused on encouraging girls to pursue training and careers in science, engineering and technology. She won an Assembly seat in 2018 and has much of the institutional Democratic support in this race, including endorsements from U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and several major local unions including the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

The San Fernando Valley native is going up against two people who have previously lost to Cárdenas.

Benito “Benny” Bernal, Republican, former LAUSD employee

Bernal, who has been endorsed by the state Republican Party, has run unsuccessfully for the Los Angeles City Council as well as for the 29th District seat. He spent nearly 30 years working for the Los Angeles Unified School District as a bus driver and supervisor but, according to his campaign website, was forced into “early retirement due to the COVID mandate, a decision rooted in his commitment to uphold his religious beliefs.”

Bernal said he’d like to lower taxes and place a “moratorium on foreign nationals buying lands/homes in the USA.”

Angélica María Dueñas, Democrat, neighborhood council member

Dueñas lost by wide margins to Cárdenas in 2020 and 2022. In 2018, she ran as a member of the Green Party and lost in the primary. Dueñas was born in Sun Valley and previously sat on the community’s Neighborhood Council. She said Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) run for president in 2016 inspired her to seek public office.

Dueñas and Rivas are highlighting their local roots and desire to bring more economic development and support to the region. Both want to protect and in some cases expand social safety net programs such as Medicare and Social Security to help the district’s large low-income immigrant population.

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Where is the district?

The 29th Congressional District stretches from the southeast to the northeast of the San Fernando Valley. The district includes pieces of Sun Valley and North Hollywood along with Van Nuys, Pacoima, Arleta, Panorama City, Sylmar and Toluca Lake. The city of San Fernando is also in the district.

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Immigration

Dueñas and Rivas support creating pathways to citizenship for immigrants who came to this country illegally. In the state Assembly, Rivas sponsored a bill that became law in 2021 that removed the term “alien” from state laws and replaced it with terms such as “immigrant” or “noncitizen.” She also backed efforts in recent years to expand Medi-Cal for immigrants regardless of legal status.

Dueñas wants to increase security at the border but also, according to her campaign website, abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She supports providing citizenship to “Dreamers” — the millions of immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children — and closing all immigration detention centers.

On his campaign website, Bernal says that California is struggling partially because of “politicians who choose to ignore border law enforcement policies.” He also says that border security needs to be increased and that there need to be more deportations of those who come illegally to the United States.

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Israel-Hamas war

Though Dueñas presents herself as being to the left of Rivas, the candidates have very similar views on many issues. One area where they differ sharply is on the conflict in the Middle East.

Rivas told The Times that, since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, “Israel must have the right and ability to bring home its hostages and to defend itself from terrorists who explicitly want to destroy it.” She added that what’s now taking place in “Gaza is a humanitarian tragedy and all parties have the responsibility to bring it to an end.”

Dueñas said she wants the United States to push for an immediate cease-fire and not send any more military aid to Israel.

“I cannot in good conscience support MORE military aid to Israel or Ukraine,” Dueñas said. “I would rather we spend that money on giving US universal health care and tuition-free public college. I would rather we spend money on bringing back good-paying jobs to the San Fernando Valley and the rest of the US.”

Bernal doesn’t believe the United States should be pressuring Israel into a cease-fire in Gaza and supports more military aid to the country. On Ukraine aid, he’s undecided.

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