Luz Maria Rivas
Luz Maria Rivas (Democratic Party) is a member of theU.S. House, representingCalifornia's 29th Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2025. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.
Rivas (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to theU.S. House to representCalifornia's 29th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the primary scheduled onJune 2, 2026.[source]
Biography
Luz Maria Rivas was born in Los Angeles, California in 1974.[1] Rivas graduated from San Fernando High School in 1991. She earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1995 and a master's degree in technology in education from Harvard University in 2003.[2][3] Rivas' career experience includes founding and working as the executive director of DIY Girls, co-founding KitHub, working as the director of research and corporate partnerships of Iridescent, and working as an electrical design engineer with Motorola. She served as a commissioner on the Board of Public Works for the City of Los Angeles. She served in theCalifornia State Assembly from 2018 to 2024.[2][3][1]
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2025-2026
Rivas was assigned to the following committees:[Source]
- Committee on Natural Resources
- Energy and Mineral Resources
- Water, Wildlife and Fisheries
- Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
- Investigations and Oversight
- Research and Technology
Elections
2026
See also: California's 29th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 29
IncumbentLuz Maria Rivas,Margarita Maria Carranza,Angélica María Dueñas, andSteven Sparrow are running in the primary for U.S. House California District 29 on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Luz Maria Rivas (D) | |
 | Margarita Maria Carranza (R) | |
 | Angélica María Dueñas (D) | |
| Steven Sparrow (R) | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. | |||
 = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement,click here.
2024
See also: California's 29th Congressional District election, 2024
California's 29th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 top-two primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House California District 29
Luz Maria Rivas defeatedBenito Bernal in the general election for U.S. House California District 29 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Luz Maria Rivas (D) | 69.8 | 146,312 |
 | Benito Bernal (R) | 30.2 | 63,374 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 209,686 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 29
Luz Maria Rivas andBenito Bernal defeatedAngélica María Dueñas in the primary for U.S. House California District 29 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Luz Maria Rivas (D) | 49.3 | 40,096 |
| ✔ | | Benito Bernal (R) | 26.4 | 21,446 |
| Angélica María Dueñas (D) | 24.4 | 19,844 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 81,386 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Endorsements
Rivas received the following endorsements.
2022
See also: California State Assembly elections, 2022
General election
General election for California State Assembly District 43
IncumbentLuz Maria Rivas defeatedSiaka Massaquoi in the general election for California State Assembly District 43 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Luz Maria Rivas (D) | 74.6 | 55,282 |
 | Siaka Massaquoi (R) | 25.4 | 18,782 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 74,064 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Assembly District 43
IncumbentLuz Maria Rivas andSiaka Massaquoi advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 43 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Luz Maria Rivas (D) | 98.5 | 38,303 |
| ✔ | | Siaka Massaquoi (R) (Write-in) | 1.5 | 575 |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 38,878 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
2020
See also: California State Assembly elections, 2020
General election
General election for California State Assembly District 39
IncumbentLuz Maria Rivas defeatedRicardo Benitez in the general election for California State Assembly District 39 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Luz Maria Rivas (D) | 74.1 | 117,207 |
 | Ricardo Benitez (R) | 25.9 | 41,033 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 158,240 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Assembly District 39
IncumbentLuz Maria Rivas andRicardo Benitez advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 39 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Luz Maria Rivas (D) | 77.8 | 54,512 |
| ✔ | | Ricardo Benitez (R) | 22.2 | 15,590 |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 70,102 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2018
California State Assembly regular election
General election
General election for California State Assembly District 39
IncumbentLuz Maria Rivas defeatedRicardo Benitez in the general election for California State Assembly District 39 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Luz Maria Rivas (D) | 77.7 | 85,027 |
| Ricardo Benitez (R) | 22.3 | 24,468 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 109,495 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Assembly District 39
The following candidates ran in the primary for California State Assembly District 39 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Luz Maria Rivas (D) | 43.9 | 20,453 |
| ✔ | | Ricardo Benitez (R) | 25.1 | 11,679 |
 | Patty Lopez (D) | 14.6 | 6,783 | |
 | Antonio Sanchez (D) | 10.1 | 4,705 | |
 | Patrea Patrick (D) | 3.7 | 1,740 | |
| Bonnie Corwin (D) | 2.6 | 1,220 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. | Total votes: 46,580 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Martha Medrano (D)
- Robert Payne (R)
California State Assembly special election
A special primary election for the position ofCalifornia State AssemblyDistrict 39 was called for April 3, 2018.Luz Maria Rivas (D) andRicardo Benitez (R), the top two vote-getters, advanced to the special general election that was held on June 5, 2018.[4][5] Rivas won the seat.[6]
To qualify for the race, candidates had to obtain nomination documents from election officials in their county of residence by February 8, 2018. Candidates could have qualified by paying a $1,072.42 filing fee. Candidates could have also qualified by submitting 536 petition signatures by January 9, 2018. The filing deadline for write-in candidates was March 20, 2018.[7]
The seat became vacant followingRaul Bocanegra's (D) resignation on November 27, 2017. He resigned due to sexual harassment allegations.[8]
Six candidates—five Democrats and one Republican—filed to run in the primary election.[9]
General election
Special general election for California State Assembly District 39
Luz Maria Rivas defeatedRicardo Benitez in the special general election for California State Assembly District 39 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Luz Maria Rivas (D) | 70.8 | 31,851 |
| Ricardo Benitez (R) | 29.2 | 13,165 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 45,016 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Special nonpartisan primary for California State Assembly District 39
The following candidates ran in the special primary for California State Assembly District 39 on April 3, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Luz Maria Rivas (D) | 42.9 | 8,222 |
| ✔ | | Ricardo Benitez (R) | 20.1 | 3,862 |
| Antonio Sanchez (D) | 19.8 | 3,802 | |
| Patty Lopez (D) | 9.9 | 1,907 | |
| Yolie Anguiano (D) | 4.8 | 922 | ||
| Patrea Patrick (D) | 2.4 | 467 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 19,182 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Bonnie Corwin (D)
- Robert Payne (R)
- Jaime Lazo (D)
- Richard Flores (D)
- Martha Medrano (D)
- Jaime Herrera (Independent)
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Luz Maria Rivas has not yet completedBallotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.Send a message to Luz Maria Rivas asking her to fill out the survey. If you are Luz Maria Rivas,click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
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You can ask Luz Maria Rivas to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing info@luzforcongress.com.
2024
Luz Maria Rivas did not completeBallotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Rivas' campaign website stated the following:
| “ | A Voice For Our Future Residents of the San Fernando Valley deserve a Member of Congress who will focus on their needs. I will fight to make sure every family has economic opportunity, protect Social Security and Medicare, and reduce the threat of climate change.[10] | ” |
| —Luz Maria Rivas' campaign website (2024)[11] | ||
2022
Luz Maria Rivas did not completeBallotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Luz Maria Rivas did not completeBallotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.
| Year | Office | Status | Contributions | Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026* | U.S. House California District 29 | Candidacy Declared primary | $441,662 | $329,522 |
| 2024 | U.S. House California District 29 | Won general | $946,966 | $682,703 |
| 2022 | California State Assembly District 43 | Won general | $762,645 | $1,126,121 |
| 2020 | California State Assembly District 39 | Won general | $754,492 | N/A** |
| Grand total | $2,905,764 | $2,138,346 | ||
| Sources:OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). | ||||
| * Data from this year may not be complete | ||||
| ** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle | ||||
| Note: Totals above reflect only available data. | ||||
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia'scoverage scope.
| Endorsee | Election | Stage | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jasmeet Bains source (D) | U.S. House California District 22 (2026) | Primary | – |
| Laura Friedman source (D) | U.S. House California District 30 (2024) | Primary | Won General |
| Dave Min source (D) | U.S. House California District 47 (2024) | Primary | Won General |
| Adam Schiff source (D) | U.S. Senate California (2024) | Primary | Won General |
| Christy Smith source (D) | U.S. House California District 27 (2022) | Primary | Lost General |
| Measure | Position | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| California Plastic Waste Reduction Regulations Initiative (2022) source | Support | Not on the ballot |
Personal finance disclosures
Members of the House are required to file financial disclosure reports. You can search disclosure reports on the House’s official websitehere.
Analysis
Below are links to scores and rankings Ballotpedia compiled for members of Congress. We chose analyses that help readers understand how each individual legislator fit into the context of the chamber as a whole in terms of ideology, bill advancement, bipartisanship, and more.
If you would like to suggest an analysis for inclusion in this section, please emaileditor@ballotpedia.org.
119th Congress (2025-2027)
State legislative tenure
Scorecards
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of California scorecards, email suggestions toeditor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
In 2024, theCalifornia State Legislature was in session from January 3 to August 31. A special session in the Assembly was from August 31, 2024 to October 14, 2024 and another special session started on December 2, 2024.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the chamber.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to the interests of health care consumers.
- Legislators are scored on how they voted on taxpayer-related issues.
- Legislators are scored on issues related to sexual and reproductive health.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on issues related to sexual and reproductive health.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
|---|
In 2023, theCalifornia State Legislature was in session from January 1 to September 14.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, theCalifornia State Legislature was in session from January 3 to August 31.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, theCalifornia State Legislature was in session from December 7 to September 10.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
|---|
In 2020, theCalifornia State Legislature was in session from January 6 to August 31.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, theCalifornia State Legislature was in session from January 7 through September 13.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, theCalifornia State Legislature was in session from January 3, 2018 through August 31, 2018.
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Committee assignments
2023-2024
Rivas was assigned to the following committees:
- Budget Committee
- Communications and Conveyance Committee
- Natural Resources Committee,Chair
- Revenue and Taxation Committee
2021-2022
Rivas was assigned to the following committees:
- Emergency Management Committee
- Legislative Budget Committee
- Budget Committee
- Health Committee
- Local Government Committee
- Natural Resources Committee,Chair
- Revenue and Taxation Committee
2019-2020
Rivas was assigned to the following committees:
- Legislative Budget Committee
- Budget Committee
- Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy Committee
- Labor and Employment Committee
- Local Government Committee
- Revenue and Taxation Committee
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Candidate U.S. House California District 29 | Officeholder U.S. House California District 29 | Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑1.01.1United States Congress, "RIVAS, Luz M," accessed August 22, 2025
- ↑2.02.1LinkedIn, "Luz Rivas," accessed December 18, 2022
- ↑3.03.1Assemblymember Luz Rivas, "Biography," accessed December 18, 2022
- ↑Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Calendar of Events: Assembly District 39 Special Primary Election," accessed February 9, 2018
- ↑California Secretary of State, "State Assembly District 39 - Districtwide Results," accessed April 4, 2018
- ↑California Secretary of State, "State Assembly District 39 - Districtwide Results," accessed June 6, 2018
- ↑California Secretary of State, "Qualifications and Requirements - 39th District Special Election," accessed December 19, 2017
- ↑Los Angeles Times, "California Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra speeds up his resignation to 'immediately' following harassment allegations," November 27, 2017
- ↑California Secretary of State, "Official Certified List of Candidates: State Assembly Member District 39," accessed March 29, 2018
- ↑Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑Luz Maria Rivas' campaign website, "Issues," accessed September 18, 2024
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tony Cárdenas (D) | U.S. House California District 29 2025-Present | Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by Laura Friedman (D) | California State Assembly District 43 2022-2024 | Succeeded by Celeste Rodriguez (D) |
| Preceded by - | California State Assembly District 39 2018-2022 | Succeeded by Juan Carrillo (D) |
- 119th Congress
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- California
- California State Assembly candidate, 2018
- California State Assembly candidate, 2020
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- Current member, U.S. Congress
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- Democratic Party
- Former member, California State Assembly
- Former state legislative member
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- Marquee, primary candidate, 2018
- State House candidate, 2018
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- State house candidates
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