Luz Maria Rivas

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Luz Maria Rivas
Candidate, U.S. House California District 29
U.S. House California District 29
Tenure
2025 - Present
Term ends
2027
Years in position
1
Predecessor: Tony Cárdenas (D)
Prior offices
California State Assembly District 43
Years in office: 2022 - 2024
Predecessor: Laura Friedman (D)
Successor: Celeste Rodriguez (D)

California State Assembly District 39
Years in office: 2018 - 2022
Successor: Juan Carrillo (D)
Compensation
Base salary
$174,000
Elections and appointments
Last election
June 2, 2026
Next election
November 3, 2026
Education
Bachelor's
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1995
Graduate
Harvard University, 2003
Personal
Birthplace
Los Angeles, CA
Profession
Nonprofit executive
Contact

Luz Maria Rivas (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing California'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 the U.S. House to represent California's 29th Congressional District. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026. She advanced from the primary on June 2, 2026.

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 the California State Assembly from 2018 to 2024.[2][3][1]

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2025-2026

Rivas was assigned to the following committees:[Source]

Elections

2026

See also: California's 29th Congressional District election, 2026

California's 29th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 top-two primary)

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for U.S. House California District 29

Incumbent Luz Maria Rivas and Angélica María Dueñas are running in the general election for U.S. House California District 29 on November 3, 2026.


Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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 U.S. House California District 29

Incumbent Luz Maria Rivas and Angélica María Dueñas defeated Rudy Melendez in the primary for U.S. House California District 29 on June 2, 2026.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Luz Maria Rivas
Luz Maria Rivas (D)
 
51.0
 
62,385
Image of Angélica María Dueñas
Angélica María Dueñas (D)
 
24.9
 
30,469
Rudy Melendez (R) Candidate Connection
 
24.0
 
29,362

Total votes: 122,216
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

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 defeated Benito Bernal in the general election for U.S. House California District 29 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Luz Maria Rivas
Luz Maria Rivas (D)
 
69.8
 
146,312
Image of Benito Bernal
Benito Bernal (R)
 
30.2
 
63,374

Total votes: 209,686
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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 U.S. House California District 29

Luz Maria Rivas and Benito Bernal defeated Angélica María Dueñas in the primary for U.S. House California District 29 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Luz Maria Rivas
Luz Maria Rivas (D)
 
49.3
 
40,096
Image of Benito Bernal
Benito Bernal (R)
 
26.4
 
21,446
Image of Angélica María Dueñas
Angélica María Dueñas (D)
 
24.4
 
19,844

Total votes: 81,386
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

Luz Maria Rivas received the following endorsements.

2022

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2022

General election

General election for California State Assembly District 43

Incumbent Luz Maria Rivas defeated Siaka Massaquoi in the general election for California State Assembly District 43 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Luz Maria Rivas
Luz Maria Rivas (D)
 
74.6
 
55,282
Image of Siaka Massaquoi
Siaka Massaquoi (R) Candidate Connection
 
25.4
 
18,782

Total votes: 74,064
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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

Incumbent Luz Maria Rivas and Siaka Massaquoi advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 43 on June 7, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Luz Maria Rivas
Luz Maria Rivas (D)
 
98.5
 
38,303
Image of Siaka Massaquoi
Siaka Massaquoi (R) (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
1.5
 
575

Total votes: 38,878
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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.

Campaign finance

2020

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2020

General election

General election for California State Assembly District 39

Incumbent Luz Maria Rivas defeated Ricardo Benitez in the general election for California State Assembly District 39 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Luz Maria Rivas
Luz Maria Rivas (D)
 
74.1
 
117,207
Image of Ricardo Benitez
Ricardo Benitez (R)
 
25.9
 
41,033

Total votes: 158,240
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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 39

Incumbent Luz Maria Rivas and Ricardo Benitez advanced from the primary for California State Assembly District 39 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Luz Maria Rivas
Luz Maria Rivas (D)
 
77.8
 
54,512
Image of Ricardo Benitez
Ricardo Benitez (R)
 
22.2
 
15,590

Total votes: 70,102
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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.

2018

California State Assembly regular election

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2018

General election

General election for California State Assembly District 39

Incumbent Luz Maria Rivas defeated Ricardo Benitez in the general election for California State Assembly District 39 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Luz Maria Rivas
Luz Maria Rivas (D)
 
77.7
 
85,027
Image of Ricardo Benitez
Ricardo Benitez (R)
 
22.3
 
24,468

Total votes: 109,495
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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 39

The following candidates ran in the primary for California State Assembly District 39 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Luz Maria Rivas
Luz Maria Rivas (D)
 
43.9
 
20,453
Image of Ricardo Benitez
Ricardo Benitez (R)
 
25.1
 
11,679
Image of Patty Lopez
Patty Lopez (D)
 
14.6
 
6,783
Image of Antonio Sanchez
Antonio Sanchez (D)
 
10.1
 
4,705
Image of Patrea Patrick
Patrea Patrick (D)
 
3.7
 
1,740
Bonnie Corwin (D)
 
2.6
 
1,220

Total votes: 46,580
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

California State Assembly special election

See also: California state legislative special elections, 2018
CA House District 39

A special primary election for the position of California State Assembly District 39 was called for April 3, 2018. Luz Maria Rivas (D) and Ricardo 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 following Raul 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 defeated Ricardo Benitez in the special general election for California State Assembly District 39 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Luz Maria Rivas
Luz Maria Rivas (D)
 
70.8
 
31,851
Image of Ricardo Benitez
Ricardo Benitez (R)
 
29.2
 
13,165

Total votes: 45,016
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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

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
Image of Luz Maria Rivas
Luz Maria Rivas (D)
 
42.9
 
8,222
Image of Ricardo Benitez
Ricardo Benitez (R)
 
20.1
 
3,862
Image of Antonio Sanchez
Antonio Sanchez (D)
 
19.8
 
3,802
Image of Patty Lopez
Patty Lopez (D)
 
9.9
 
1,907
Yolie Anguiano (D)
 
4.8
 
922
Image of Patrea Patrick
Patrea Patrick (D)
 
2.4
 
467

Total votes: 19,182
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates


Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Luz Maria Rivas has not yet completed Ballotpedia'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.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 31,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

You can ask Luz Maria Rivas to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing info@luzforcongress.com.

Twitter
Email

2024

Luz Maria Rivas did not complete Ballotpedia'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 complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Luz Maria Rivas did not complete Ballotpedia'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 the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Luz Maria Rivas campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2026* U.S. House California District 29On the Ballot general$670,678 $557,465
2024U.S. House California District 29Won general$946,966 $682,703
2022California State Assembly District 43Won general$762,645 $1,126,121
2020California State Assembly District 39Won general$754,492 N/A**
Grand total$3,134,780 $2,366,288
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Election 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

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

Notable candidate endorsements by Luz Maria Rivas
EndorseeElectionStageOutcome
Hydee Feldstein Soto  source  (Nonpartisan) Los Angeles City Attorney (2026) Lost Primary
Barri Worth Girvan  source  (Nonpartisan) Los Angeles City Council District 3 (2026) Advanced in Primary
Timothy Gaspar  source  (Nonpartisan) Los Angeles City Council District 3 (2026) Advanced in Primary
Karen Bass  source  (Nonpartisan) Mayor of Los Angeles (2026) Advanced in Primary
Mary Solorio  source  (Nonpartisan) San Fernando City Council At-Large (2026)
Michelle Vergara  source  (Nonpartisan) San Fernando City Council At-Large (2026)
Sean M. Rivas  source  (Nonpartisan) San Fernando City Council At-Large (2026)
Jasmeet Bains  source  (D) U.S. House California District 22 (2026) PrimaryLost Primary
Laura Friedman  source  (D) U.S. House California District 30 (2024) PrimaryWon General
Dave Min  source  (D) U.S. House California District 47 (2024) PrimaryWon General
Adam Schiff  source  (D) U.S. Senate California (2024) PrimaryWon General
Christy Smith  source  (D) U.S. House California District 27 (2022) PrimaryLost General
Notable ballot measure endorsements by Luz Maria Rivas
MeasurePositionOutcome
California Plastic Waste Reduction Regulations Initiative (2022)  source SupportNot 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 website here.

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 email editor@ballotpedia.org.

119th Congress (2025-2027)

Rankings and scores for the 119th Congress




Key votes

See also: Key votes

Ballotpedia monitors legislation that receives a vote and highlights the ones that we consider to be key to understanding where elected officials stand on the issues. To read more about how we identify key votes, click here.

Key votes: 119th Congress, 2025

The 119th United States Congress began on January 3, 2025 and will conclude on January 3, 2027. At the start of the session, Republicans held the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives (219-215), and Republicans held the majority in the U.S. Senate (52-45). Joe Biden (D) was the president and Kamala Harris (D) was the vice president. We identified the key votes below using Congress' top-viewed bills list and through marquee coverage of certain votes on Ballotpedia.

Key votes: 119th Congress, 2025
VoteBill and descriptionStatus
Red x.svg NayYes check.svg Passed (218-214)[13]
Red x.svg NayYes check.svg Passed (220-208)[15]
Red x.svg NayYes check.svg Passed (216-214)[17]
Red x.svg NayYes check.svg Passed (222-209)[19]
Red x.svg NayYes check.svg Passed (217-213)[21]
Red x.svg NayYes check.svg Passed (308-122)[23]
Yes check.svg YeaYes check.svg Passed (427-1)[25]
Red x.svg NayYes check.svg Passed (263-156)[27]
Red x.svg NayYes check.svg Passed (219-213)[29]
Red x.svg NayYes check.svg Passed (246-160)[31]
Red x.svg NayYes check.svg Passed (218-206)[33]


State legislative tenure

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards, State legislative scorecards in California

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2025.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2024.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2023.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2022.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2021.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2020.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2019.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2018.

Committee assignments

2023-2024

Rivas was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Rivas was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Rivas was assigned to the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 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


External links

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 United States Congress, "RIVAS, Luz M," accessed August 22, 2025
  2. 2.0 2.1 LinkedIn, "Luz Rivas," accessed December 18, 2022
  3. 3.0 3.1 Assemblymember Luz Rivas, "Biography," accessed December 18, 2022
  4. Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Calendar of Events: Assembly District 39 Special Primary Election," accessed February 9, 2018
  5. California Secretary of State, "State Assembly District 39 - Districtwide Results," accessed April 4, 2018
  6. California Secretary of State, "State Assembly District 39 - Districtwide Results," accessed June 6, 2018
  7. California Secretary of State, "Qualifications and Requirements - 39th District Special Election," accessed December 19, 2017
  8. Los Angeles Times, "California Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra speeds up his resignation to 'immediately' following harassment allegations," November 27, 2017
  9. California Secretary of State, "Official Certified List of Candidates: State Assembly Member District 39," accessed March 29, 2018
  10. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  11. Luz Maria Rivas' campaign website, "Issues," accessed September 18, 2024
  12. Congress.gov, "H.R.1 - An act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14.", accessed May 29, 2026
  13. Congress.gov, "House Roll Call Vote 190," accessed May 29, 2026
  14. Congress.gov, "H.R.22 - SAVE Act," accessed May 29, 2026
  15. Congress.gov, "House Roll Call Vote 102," accessed May 29, 2026
  16. Congress.gov, "H.Con.Res.14 - Establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2025 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2026 through 2034," accessed May 29, 2026
  17. Congress.gov, "House Roll Call Vote 100," accessed May 29, 2026
  18. Congress.gov, "H.R.5371 - Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026," accessed June 1, 2026
  19. Congress.gov, "House Roll Call Vote 285," accessed June 1, 2026
  20. Congress.gov, "H.R.1968 - Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025," accessed June 1, 2026
  21. Congress.gov, "House Roll Call Vote 70," accessed June 1, 2026
  22. Congress.gov, "S.1582 - GENIUS Act," accessed June 1, 2026
  23. Congress.gov, "House Roll Call Vote 200," accessed June 1, 2026
  24. Congress.gov, "H.R.4405 - Epstein Files Transparency Act," accessed June 2, 2026
  25. Congress.gov, "House Roll Call Vote 289," accessed June 2, 2026
  26. Congress.gov, "S.5 - Laken Riley Act," accessed June 2, 2026
  27. Congress.gov, "House Roll Call Vote 23," accessed June 2, 2026
  28. Congress.gov, "H.R.1526 - NORRA of 2025," accessed June 2, 2026
  29. Congress.gov, "House Roll Call Vote 98," accessed June 2, 2026
  30. Congress.gov, "H.R.875 - Jeremy and Angel Seay and Sergeant Brandon Mendoza Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act of 2025," accessed June 2, 2026
  31. Congress.gov, "House Roll Call Vote 183," accessed June 2, 2026
  32. Congress.gov, "H.R.28 - Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025," accessed June 2, 2026
  33. Congress.gov, "House Roll Call Vote 12," accessed June 2, 2026

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)


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
Ami Bera (D)
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Adam Gray (D)
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
Ro Khanna (D)
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
Jim Costa (D)
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
Raul Ruiz (D)
District 26
District 27
District 28
Judy Chu (D)
District 29
Luz Rivas (D)
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
Ted Lieu (D)
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
Young Kim (R)
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
Dave Min (D)
District 48
District 49
District 50
District 51
District 52
Democratic Party (45)
Republican Party (8)
Independent (1)