Rep. Ted Lieu, Democratic incumbent, wins reelection to US House seat
Ted Lieu, a Democrat who won reelection to the United States House of Representatives, is pictured. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Josephine Murphy
Nov. 5, 2024 11:29 p.m.
This post was updated Nov. 6 at 1:47 a.m.
Westwood’s United States House representative has won a sixth term in Congress, the Associated Press projects.
At 9:06 p.m., the Associated Press called the race with 56% of the vote being tallied. As of 10:38 p.m., Rep. Ted Lieu – a Democrat who represents California’s 36th Congressional District – led his Republican opponent Melissa Toomim with 68.5% of the vote and an estimated 58% of precincts reporting, according to AP.
Lieu, a co-chair of the U.S. House Bipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, has introduced cybersecurity legislation and also served as an Impeachment Manager during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. He is currently on the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committee.
Throughout his bid for re-election, Lieu emphasized his accomplishments in Congress, including serving as the vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, as well as his background as an immigrant who served in the U.S. Air Force.
Toomim, a former investigative journalist who did not advance past the 2022 primary to represent California’s 32nd Congressional District, has described herself as a “passionate Constitutionalist,” who supports Israel and wants to revive border security and Los Angeles’ entertainment industry.
This cycle, Toomim won 14.9% of the vote in the primary, narrowly beating another Republican challenger.
[Related: Melissa Toomim, incumbent Ted Lieu run for US House of Representatives seat]
With regard to the Palestine solidarity encampment at UCLA, Toomim said in an interview that the university was correct to sweep and dismantle the encampment, adding that she believes the protest was “threatening” and blocking Jewish students from accessing parts of campus.
Lieu, the co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, denounced the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian political party and militant group Hamas on Israel, which killed an estimated 1,200 people according to AP.
Lieu’s office did not respond in time to a request for comment.
