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Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez has advanced to the runoff in his Los Angeles congressional race — after confessing Tuesday to cheating on his wife.
Gomez had nearly 46% of the vote as of Wednesday afternoon, with 60% of the ballots counted, enough to send the incumbent through to the November general election for his 34th Congressional District seat.
Five other candidates are now competing for the second and final spot to advance to the runoff, with Democrat Angela Gonzales-Torres currently in the No. 2 spot with mnore than 25% of the vote.
On Tuesday, the founder of the Congressional Dads Caucus admitted that he cheated on his wife — after The Post in April revealed he was seen kissing a congressional aide outside a Washington, DC party.
“Years ago, I made personal mistakes outside my marriage that have caused real pain to my wife and family,” Gomez told CNN, describing the extramarital relations as “consensual.”
“I sincerely apologize to my wife, family, friends and the people that I have the privilege to serve.”
Gomez, 51, is reportedly under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over unspecified sexual misconduct allegations. Those incidents were discovered, sources said, after reporting by The Post prompted the committee to examine the congressman.
Back in April, as former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s bid for California governor imploded over allegations of sexual misconduct, The Post reported that Gomez was spotted surreptitiously kissing a much younger congressional aide in the summer of 2023.
A married member of Swalwell’s “Cool Kids Clique,” Gomez was seen making out with an aide to a different House Democrat outside a backyard party hosted by Swalwell to celebrate the start of the August congressional recess.
A Gomez spokesperson told The Post then that the accounts were “not true” and the makeout session “didn’t happen.” His office didn’t respond when asked again after the admission of cheating on his wife.
Gomez has indicated he doesn’t plan to resign.
“Although my actions were consensual in nature and haven’t violated the law or House ethics rules, that doesn’t diminish the impact that these mistakes have made on those I care about the most,” Gomez said in his statement, adding he has sought “professional assistance” for his conduct.
Sources said Gomez, Swalwell and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) were busy boozing and behaving boorishly as members of the so-called “Cool Kids Clique.”
“This guy [Gomez] is a sleazebag. He should resign and use his free time to trade war stories with Swalwell,” said one Democratic source.
Gonzales-Torres, who has the support of the left-wing Justice Democrats and the California Working Families Party, may use the controversy to her advantage as the general election nears.
“Angelenos, we deserve better,” she said on X. “Like I said, if he has nothing to hide, he has nothing to worry about. But I’ve also said, since day one of this campaign, that our community deserves real representation and real respect and we will accept nothing less.”
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