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Luz Maria Rivas

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Luz Maria Rivas
Image of Luz Maria Rivas

Democratic Party

Candidate, U.S. House California District 29

U.S. House California District 29
Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

0

Predecessor
Prior offices
California State Assembly District 39
Successor: Juan Carrillo
California State Assembly District 43
Predecessor: Laura Friedman

Compensation

Base salary

$174,000

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1995

Graduate

Harvard University, 2003

Personal
Birthplace
Los Angeles, Calif.
Profession
Nonprofit executive
Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Instagram

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign TikTok

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

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 declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[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 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

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House California District 29

Incumbent Luz Maria Rivas, Margarita Maria Carranza, and Steven Sparrow are running in the general election for U.S. House California District 29 on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Luz Maria Rivas
Luz Maria Rivas (D)
Image of Margarita Maria Carranza
Margarita Maria Carranza (R)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Steven Sparrow (R)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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 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

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

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

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

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.

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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

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

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

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

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

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

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

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

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

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

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

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
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Bonnie Corwin (D)
 
2.6
 
1,220

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

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

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

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
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Yolie Anguiano (D)
 
4.8
 
922
Image of Patrea Patrick
Patrea Patrick (D)
 
2.4
 
467

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

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 23,000 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 29Candidacy Declared general$309,389 $222,711
2024* U.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$2,773,491 $2,031,534
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

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
Jasmeet Bains  source  (D) U.S. House California District 22 (2026) 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




State legislative tenure

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and 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 California scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.


2024

In 2024, the California 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


2022


2021


2020


2019


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

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External links

Candidate

U.S. House California District 29
  • Website
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    		•

    Officeholder

    U.S. House California District 29
  • Website
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    Personal

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    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

    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)


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