Norma Torres Wins Reelection in California's Inland Empire as Former 911 Dispatcher Vows to Answer the Call for Working Families

Pomona, November 4, 2026 — Congresswoman Norma Torres has won reelection to represent California's thirty-fifth Congressional District in the 120th Congress, securing another term in a region that has become a bellwether for the economic anxieties and political shifts reshaping Southern California. In a statement released from Pomona, Torres said she is deeply grateful to the people of the Inland Empire for once again placing their trust in her, and she framed the victory as belonging to the hardworking families who deserve a government that puts their needs first.

Torres delivered a pointed assessment of the national political environment that produced the Democratic wave now sweeping Washington. She said Donald Trump and Republicans have driven up costs, attacked communities, abused power and put wealthy interests ahead of working families, and she declared that voters have sent a clear message that enough is enough. Americans deserve affordable healthcare, good-paying jobs, safe communities and leaders who deliver results instead of chaos, she said, echoing the themes that carried Democrats to victory across the country and gave the party control of both chambers of Congress.

The congresswoman's personal history gives her words a credibility that few politicians can claim. Before entering public service, Torres worked as a 911 dispatcher, answering emergency calls from people in crisis and coordinating the response that would determine whether they survived the night. That experience, she said, taught her what it means to answer the call, and she promised to bring the same urgency to the new Congress. I will hold this administration accountable, defend our freedoms, and stand up to anyone who puts political power ahead of the American people, she said. The Inland Empire deserves a representative who never loses sight of the families she serves.

Torres's district, which stretches across San Bernardino and Riverside counties east of Los Angeles, is one of the most economically diverse and politically competitive regions in California. It includes working-class neighborhoods, immigrant communities, logistics hubs that power the region's economy and suburban enclaves that have swung between parties in recent cycles. The Inland Empire has been hit hard by the rising cost of housing, healthcare and fuel, and Torres's focus on affordability and accountability resonated with voters who feel that the national economy has left them behind. Her victory, in a district that Republicans had hoped to contest, reinforces the Democratic hold on Southern California and adds another incumbent to the party's new majority.

For the international audience watching the American midterms, Torres's win is a reminder that the Democratic wave extended into the inland regions that are often overlooked in national coverage. The coasts and the suburbs dominate the headlines, but the Inland Empire represents the kind of diverse, working-class territory where the party's message on economic fairness and government accountability found a receptive audience. Torres's background as a dispatcher and her emphasis on constituent service reflect a style of politics that prioritizes the tangible over the ideological, and her continued presence in Congress ensures that the region's voices will be heard in the debates over trade, immigration and infrastructure that will define the next two years.

As the 120th Congress prepares to convene in January, Torres will take her seat among a Democratic majority that is eager to govern and a California delegation that has become the largest and most influential in the party. She will be called upon to deliver on the promises that carried her to victory, to lower costs for families in her district and across the country, to protect healthcare for those who depend on it and to hold the administration accountable for its conduct. We have made real progress, she said, but there is more work ahead. I am ready to get back to work and make every day of the 120th Congress count. The Inland Empire has answered the call, and Norma Torres has promised to answer it in return.