Endorsement: Re-elect Norma Torres in the 35th Congressional District
Incumbent Congresswoman Norma Torres, first elected in 2014, is the clear choice for the House of Representatives in the November election for residents of the 35th district. The Proposition 50-redrawn district spans from Pomona, where she previously served as mayor before being elected to the California state Senate, over to Fontana and south to Corona.
Torres is a voice of reason for her part of the Inland Empire, in sharp contrast to her Republican opponent, Mike Cargile, a conspiracy theorist who touts everything from 9/11 trutherism to variants of the QAnon conspiracy theories. Cargile and Torres have faced off in consecutive congressional contests in recent years.
Born in Guatemala before moving to California as a child, Torres worked as a 911 operator, leading the fight to require Spanish-speaking operators after she often found herself the only one in the room who could field the many calls coming in from Spanish-speaking residents needing help during an emergency.
When she spoke with the editorial board recently, she discussed this peculiarly partisan moment in the House of Representatives, lauding the passage of a major housing bill backed by a huge majority of both Democrats and Republicans.
"It's the one light of hope" in the divided Congress, helping to create around 4 million new housing units in the nation, she said, "and we're hoping the president will sign it as soon as it hits his desk." President Trump has instead delayed his signing, saying that he refused to approve any legislation until Congress signed the SAVE Act, an unjustified federal intervention in elections across the country.
"There are no checks and balances," she said of the way in which Congress currently works with the White House. "In his first administration, he had people around him who gave him truthful information. This time around, he is hell-bent on punishing people around him who don't agree with him."
One of the leading experts in Congress on United States relations with Central America, she lamented Trump's unpardonable pardon of Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras who in 2024 was convicted on drug-trafficking charges.
"Americans are so consumed with their ability to afford groceries and health care that all of this other stuff is being overlooked," Torres said.
She has properly blasted the president's tariffs as a "direct tax on working families" and opposed the president's unauthorized military actions in the Caribbean and Iran.
While we have our disagreements with her, she is an an excellent, hardworking representative for the 35th district. We endorse her re-election.
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.