Norma Torres
Norma Torres, a Democrat who has represented California's 35th congressional district in the U.S. House since 2015, faces Republican independent filmmaker Mike Cargile for re-election to the 35th district seat in 2026.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Norma Torres.
- Born
- April 4, 1965
- Birthplace
- Escuintla, Guatemala
- Education
- Mt. San Antonio College
Rio Hondo College
National Labor College (bachelor's degree in labor studies, 2012)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Norma Torres was born Norma Judith Barillas on April 4, 1965, in Guatemala. When she was five, she and her uncle came to the United States, and her mother died a year later. She arrived on a tourist visa, became a legal resident in her teens and gained citizenship in 1992.
Torres worked as a 9-1-1 dispatcher, and in 1994 she led a campaign to require the hiring of bilingual 9-1-1 operators; she was also an active member of AFSCME, serving as shop steward of Local 3090. She is married to Louis Torres, and the couple live in Pomona, California, and have three sons.
Career
Torres served on the Pomona city council before she was elected mayor of Pomona in 2006. In November 2008 she won election to the California State Assembly, filling the vacancy left by the retirement of Nell Soto, and she later represented the 32nd district in the California State Senate. She earned a bachelor's degree in labor studies from the National Labor College in Maryland in 2012.
Torres was elected to the U.S. House for California's 35th congressional district in 2014, defeating Democrat Christina Gagnier with 63.5% of the vote. She won re-election in 2016 and 2018, and in 2020 she defeated Republican Mike Cargile with 69.3%.
After her re-election in November 2022, she accused President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador of interfering in her race.
In the 119th Congress she serves on the Committee on Appropriations and on the Committee on House Administration, where she is ranking member of the Subcommittee on Modernization and Innovation.
2026 race
Norma Torres is seeking another term in California's 35th congressional district, which she won in 2024 with 58.4% of the vote. In the top-two primary Torres took 59.54% of the vote and Republican Mike Cargile took 40.44%, and both advanced to the general election. Cargile, an independent filmmaker, was the runner-up for this district in 2020, 2022 and 2024. Torres and Cargile meet again in the general election on November 3, 2026.