# Norma Torres

Norma Judith Torres (née Barillas; born April 4, 1965) is an American politician. She is a member of the United States House of Representatives for California's 35th congressional district. Previously, she was a member of the California State Senate representing the 32nd district. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

## Early life and career

Torres was born Norma Judith Barillas in Guatemala. When she was five, she and her uncle came to the United States; her mother died a year later. She originally arrived on a tourist visa, but became a legal resident in her teens and gained citizenship in 1992.
Torres worked as a 9-1-1 dispatcher, and in 1994 led a campaign to require the hiring of bilingual 9-1-1 operators. She was an active member of AFSCME, serving as local 3090's shop steward. She served on the Pomona city council before being elected the city's mayor in 2006. In 2008, Torres endorsed then-presidential candidate Barack Obama before Hillary Clinton withdrew from the race, and was a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention. She was elected to the State Assembly in November 2008, filling the vacancy left by former legislator Nell Soto, who retired. She earned her bachelor's degree in labor studies from the now-defunct National Labor College in Maryland in 2012.

## U.S. House of Representatives

Torres was elected to the U.S. House of Representative for California's 35th congressional district in 2014, defeating Christina Gagnier (D) with 63.5% of the vote. She was reelected in 2016, defeating Tyler Fischella (R) with 72.4% of the vote. In 2018, Torres received 69.4% of the vote to defeat Christian Valiente (R), and in 2020, she defeated Republican Mike Cargile with 69.3%.
After being reelected to the House in November 2022, Torres accused President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador of interfering in her race. Bukele had urged voters to oppose Torres.

### Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:
* Committee on Appropriations
** Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
** Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
** Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
* Committee on House Administration
** Subcommittee on Elections
** Subcommittee on Oversight (Ranking Member)

### Caucus memberships

* New Democrat Coalition
* Congressional Hispanic Caucus
* Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus

## Political positions
### Abortion

As of 2022, Torres has a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America and an F rating from the Susan B. Anthony List for her abortion-related voting record. She opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling it "devastating" and saying it set back "our country decades, reversing so many years of hard-fought progress" for women.

### Big Tech

In 2022, Torres was one of 16 Democrats to vote against the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.

### Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Torres was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.

## Personal life

Torres is married to Louis Torres. They live in Pomona, California. They have three sons, including Robert Torres, a Pomona City Council member.

## Electoral history

2008 California Assembly election: District 61 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Norma Torres | 61,004 | 60.60% |
| | Republican | Wendy Maier | 33,284 | 33.00% |
| | Libertarian | Michael Mendez | 6,517 | 6.40% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 100,805 | 100 |
2010 California Assembly election: District 61 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Norma Torres (incumbent) | 43,813 | 60.16% |
| | Republican | Ray Moors | 29,009 | 39.84% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 72,822 | 100 |
2012 California Assembly election: District 52 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Norma Torres (incumbent) | 66,565 | 66.02% |
| | Republican | Kenny Coble | 34,267 | 33.98% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 100,832 | 100 |
2013 California Senate special election: District 32 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Norma Torres | 15,021 | 44.24% |
| | Republican | Paul Leon | 8,961 | 26.39% |
| | Democratic | Larry Walker | 4,620 | 13.61% |
| | Democratic | Joanne Gilbert | 2,327 | 6.85% |
| | Republican | Kenny Coble | 2,178 | 6.41% |
| | Democratic | Paul Avila | 845 | 2.49% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 33,952 | 100 |
US House election, 2014: California District 35 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Norma Torres | 17,996 | 65.68% |
| | Democratic | Christina Gagnier | 4,081 | 14.89% |
| | Democratic | Scott Heydenfeldt | 2,574 | 9.39% |
| | Democratic | Anthony Vieyra | 2,183 | 7.97% |
| | Republican | Benjamin "Ben" Lopez (write-in) | 567 | 2.07% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 27,401 | 100 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Norma Torres | 39,502 | 63.45% |
| | Democratic | Christina Gagnier | 22,753 | 36.55% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 62,255 | 100 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
US House election, 2016: California District 35 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Norma Torres (incumbent) | 65,226 | 75.57% |
| | Republican | Tyler Fischella | 21,089 | 24.43% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 86,315 | 100 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Norma Torres (incumbent) | 124,044 | 73.29% |
| | Republican | Tyler Fischella | 47,309 | 27.61% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 171,353 | 100 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
US House election, 2018: California District 35 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Norma Torres (incumbent) | 32,474 | 51.17% |
| | Republican | Christian Valiente | 21,572 | 33.99% |
| | Democratic | Joe Baca | 9,417 | 14.84% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 63,463 | 100 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Norma Torres (incumbent) | 103,420 | 69.40% |
| | Republican | Christian Valiente | 45,604 | 30.60% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 149,024 | 100 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
US House election, 2020: California District 35 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Norma Torres (incumbent) | 70,813 | 70.78% |
| | Republican | Mike Cargile | 29,234 | 29.22% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 100,047 | 100 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Norma Torres (incumbent) | 169,405 | 69.33% |
| | Republican | Mark Cargile | 74,941 | 30.67% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 244,346 | 100 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
US House election, 2022: California District 35 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Norma Torres (incumbent) | 37,554 | 54.34% |
| | Republican | Mike Cargile | 17,431 | 25.22% |
| | Republican | Rafael Carcamo | 7,619 | 11.03% |
| | Republican | Bob Erbst | 3,480 | 5.04% |
| | Democratic | Lloyd Stevens | 3,022 | 4.37% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 69,106 | 100 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Norma Torres (incumbent) | 75,121 | 57.36% |
| | Republican | Mark Cargile | 55,832 | 42.64% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 130,953 | 100 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
US House election, 2024: California District 35 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Norma Torres (incumbent) | 39,051 | 48.18% |
| | Republican | Mike Cargile | 32,082 | 39.58% |
| | Democratic | Melissa May | 6,432 | 7.94% |
| | Republican | Vijal Suthar | 3,491 | 4.31% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 81,056 | 100 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Norma Torres (incumbent) | 136,413 | 58.41% |
| | Republican | Mark Cargile | 97,142 | 41.59% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 233,555 | 100 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |