Gil Cisneros | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Grace Napolitano |
| Constituency | 31st district |
| In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Ed Royce |
| Succeeded by | Young Kim |
| Constituency | 39th district |
| 10thUnder Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness | |
| In office August 24, 2021 – September 8, 2023 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Matthew Donovan |
| Succeeded by | Ashish Vazirani (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. (1971-02-12)February 12, 1971 (age 54) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (2008–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Republican (before 2008) |
| Spouse | Jacki |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1994–2004 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Commander |
| Awards | |
Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. (born February 12, 1971)[1] is an American government official, philanthropist, and politician who is a member of theUnited States House of Representatives, representingCalifornia's 31st congressional district since 2025. Cisneros, aDemocrat since 2008, previously served asUnder Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in theBiden administration and the U.S. representative forCalifornia's 39th congressional district from 2019 to 2021.
In 2010, he and his wife won a $266 millionMega Millions lottery jackpot[2] and becamephilanthropists. He waselected to the House in 2018 to representCalifornia's 39th congressional district.[3] He was defeated in his 2020 bid for reelection by formerCalifornia State Assembly memberYoung Kim, whom he had defeated in 2018. In April 2021, he was nominated by President Biden to serve asUnder Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and after confirmation by the Senate, he assumed office on August 24, 2021.[4]
On August 1, 2023, he announced he was stepping down from his position in the Pentagon in early September. On September 18, he announced his candidacy forCalifornia's 31st congressional district[5][6] and defeated Republican Daniel Martinez in the2024 election.[7]
Cisneros was born inLos Angeles, ofCalifornio heritage.[8] His great-grandmother was born in Los Angeles when it was still part ofMexico.[8] His mother worked in a cafeteria, while his father served in theVietnam War and suffered from exposure toAgent Orange.[2] He isHispanic.[8]
Cisneros served in theUnited States Navy as a supply officer for 11 years.[9] He discharged from the Navy in 2004,[10] as alieutenant commander, and his decorations included theNavy Commendation Medal andNavy Achievement Medal.[2] He earned hisBachelor of Arts inpolitical science fromGeorge Washington University and hisMaster of Business Administration fromRegis University.[11]
Cisneros worked as a shipping and manufacturing manager forFrito-Lay until he was laid off in 2010.[12]
Weeks after he was laid off, Cisneros won aMega Millions jackpot worth $266 million.[12] He and his wife became philanthropists, establishingendowments for scholarships to be given to Latino students at GWU and theUniversity of Southern California. They also founded Generation First Degree Pico Rivera, with the goal of ensuring every Latino household inPico Rivera has at least one college graduate, and the Gilbert and Jacki Cisneros Foundation with an initial investment of $20 million to provide mentorship in education.[11][13][14]
Gil Cisneros' work in philanthropy led him to an appointment by President Barack Obama to be on the Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2014.[15]
After setting up the foundation, Cisneros earned aMaster of Arts fromBrown University in Urban Education Policy,[2][9] and anMBA fromRegis University.
Cisneros was aRepublican until 2008, but left the party because he felt it had become "too ideological" and switched to theDemocratic Party.[16]
In 2017, he declared his candidacy againstEd Royce in the2018 election for theUnited States House of Representatives to representCalifornia's 39th congressional district.[13][17] He specifically cited Royce's vote to repeal the 2010Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, as a reason he chose to run.[16] In January 2018, Royce announced he would retire rather than seek reelection to a 14th term.[18] Later, the election attracted national attention as the "weirdest race in the country" after theCalifornia Democratic Party and theDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee brokered a truce on negative campaigning between Cisneros and Andy Thorburn, who had each spent $6 million on their respective campaigns.[19]
Fears of a lockout by either party were not realized when Cisneros advanced to the November runoff election, finishing second in the June primary election to Republican formerstate AssemblywomanYoung Kim,[20] with 19.35% of the vote.[21] This election was rated a "Toss-up" by theCook Political Report andSabato's Crystal Ball.[22] TheAssociated Press called the election for Cisneros on November 17.[23]
Cisneros lost to Young Kim by a margin of 1.2% in the2020 House of Representatives election forCalifornia's 39th congressional district, in a rematch of the 2018 election.
On September 18, 2023, Cisneros announced his intention to make a return to Congress by announcing his candidacy for the vacant 31st congressional district seat that became available with the retirement ofGrace Napolitano.[24] He defeated Republican Daniel Martinez in the2024 election.[7]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2024) |
On April 12, 2021, the White House announced that Cisneros would be nominated to serve asUnder Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in theBiden administration;[25] his nomination was received on April 27.[26] On July 27, theSenate Armed Services Committee (SASC) voted to advance Cisneros's nomination to the full chamber for afuture vote.[26][27] Cisneros was confirmed unanimously by the Senate on August 11, 2021, by voice vote,[28] and he was sworn in on August 24, 2021.[4]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Young Kim | 30,019 | 21.2 | |
| Democratic | Gil Cisneros | 27,469 | 19.4 | |
| Republican | Phil Liberatore | 20,257 | 14.3 | |
| Democratic | Andy Thorburn | 12,990 | 9.2 | |
| Republican | Shawn Nelson | 9,750 | 6.9 | |
| Republican | Bob Huff | 8,699 | 6.2 | |
| Democratic | Sam Jammal | 7,613 | 5.4 | |
| Democratic | Mai-Khanh Tran | 7,430 | 5.3 | |
| Democratic | Herbert H. Lee | 5,988 | 4.2 | |
| Republican | Steven C. Vargas | 4,144 | 2.9 | |
| Democratic | Suzi Park Leggett | 2,058 | 1.5 | |
| Republican | John J. Cullum | 1,747 | 1.2 | |
| No party preference | Karen Lee Schatzle | 903 | 0.6 | |
| No party preference | Steve Cox | 856 | 0.6 | |
| Republican | Andrew Sarega | 823 | 0.6 | |
| American Independent | Sophia J. Alexander | 523 | 0.4 | |
| American Independent | Ted Alemayhu | 176 | 0.1 | |
| Total votes | 141,445 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Gil Cisneros | 126,002 | 51.6 | |
| Republican | Young Kim | 118,391 | 48.4 | |
| Total votes | 229,860 | 100.0 | ||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Young Kim | 83,941 | 48.3 | |
| Democratic | Gil Cisneros (incumbent) | 81,402 | 46.9 | |
| No party preference | Steve Cox | 8,286 | 4.8 | |
| Total votes | 173,629 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | Young Kim | 173,946 | 50.6 | |
| Democratic | Gil Cisneros (incumbent) | 169,837 | 49.4 | |
| Total votes | 343,783 | 100.0 | ||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Gil Cisneros | 23,888 | 23.6 | |
| Republican | Daniel Martinez | 19,464 | 19.2 | |
| Republican | Pedro Casas | 17,077 | 16.9 | |
| Democratic | Susan Rubio | 16,006 | 15.8 | |
| Democratic | Bob Archuleta | 10,151 | 10.0 | |
| Democratic | Mary Ann Lutz | 6,629 | 6.5 | |
| Democratic | Greg Hafif | 4,914 | 4.9 | |
| Democratic | Kurt Jose | 1,415 | 1.4 | |
| No party preference | Erskine Levi | 1,166 | 1.2 | |
| No party preference | Marie Manvel | 534 | 0.5 | |
| Total votes | 101,244 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Gil Cisneros | 148,095 | 59.7 | |
| Republican | Daniel Martinez | 99,856 | 40.3 | |
| Total votes | 247,951 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
Cisneros and his wife Jacki have twin sons.[9] They own a home inPico Rivera,[31] and lived inNewport Beach until they moved toYorba Linda in late 2017, the year he began running for election.[13] Before Cisneros won the lottery, Jacki worked forKNBC in Los Angeles.[12] Gil currently resides in Covina, California.[citation needed] He is Catholic.[32]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 39th congressional district 2019–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 31st congressional district 2025–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness 2021–2023 | Succeeded by Ashish Vazirani Acting |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 372nd | Succeeded by |
| People | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
