Hilda Solis

Biography & Campaign Analysis

Background

Hilda Solis was born on October 20, 1957, in Los Angeles to immigrant parents, Juana Sequeira from Nicaragua and Raúl Solís from Mexico, and grew up as the third oldest of seven siblings in La Puente, California.

Her father worked at the Quemetco battery recycling plant in the City of Industry and organized for the Teamsters, and her mother worked for over 20 years on the assembly line of Mattel.

After graduating from La Puente High School, Solis became the first of her family to go to college, earning a Bachelor of Arts in political science from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, in 1979 and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California in 1981.

Career

Solis worked in the White House Office of Hispanic Affairs near the end of the Carter administration and as a management analyst at the Office of Management and Budget in 1981.

Back in California she became director of the California Student Opportunity and Access Program in 1982, won a seat on the Rio Hondo Community College District board of trustees in 1985, and was elected to the California State Assembly in 1992 and the California State Senate in 1994.

She was the first Hispanic woman to serve in the State Senate, and in 2000 she became the first woman to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.

In 2000 Solis defeated 18-year incumbent Matthew G. Martínez in the Democratic primary for the 31st congressional district, and she served in the U.S. House from 2001 to 2009, representing the 31st and 32nd districts.

President Barack Obama nominated her as secretary of labor, and she held the post from 2009 to 2013 as the first Latina to lead a federal executive department.

She won a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in June 2014, was sworn in on December 1, and served one-year terms as county chair from 2015 to 2016 and from 2020 to 2021.

2026 race

Hilda Solis is running in California's 38th congressional district, a seat that is open in 2026 because of redistricting. She led the top-two primary with 47.62% of the vote, and Republican Pedro Casas, a psychologist and candidate for the 31st district in 2024, advanced with 35.84%.

Two other Democrats, Pico Rivera mayor pro tem Monica Sánchez and Pico Rivera city councilor Erik Lutz, were eliminated with 13.31% and 3.24%. Solis faces Casas in the general election on November 3, 2026.