PDA Progressive Town Hall: Removing Two Toxic Men from Congress with Two Progressive Women

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Our featured guests today are changing what’s possible in politics. Will California get its first squad member? How far can a progressive go in the once-deep red Phoenix suburbs against the worst that MAGA has to offer?

🌟 Angela Gonzales-Torres for Congress (CA-34)

🌟 Elizabeth Lee for Congress (AZ-5)

🔥 Don’t miss this exciting conversation. RSVP today!

What they are saying about Angela Gonzales-Torres:

The American Prospect: A scandal-tinged race was not what Gonzales-Torres, an academic counselor and affordable housing advocate, had prepared to run. Her initial impulse was frustration over Gomez’s failure to sign on to the Block the Bombs Act to prevent the sale of U.S. weapons to the Israeli military. Gomez was the only Democrat to benefit from AIPAC political spending in the 2024 general election, totaling nearly $3 million. For Gonzales-Torres, who attended the UCLA encampment in support of Gaza, that was unacceptable.

“His refusal was, I think, indicative of this pattern of bad judgment that we’ve seen,” Gonzales-Torres told me outside a happy hour event after a day of canvassing. She included in this his consistent support for crypto’s legislative priorities; the industry PAC Fairshake ran $500,000 in ads for Gomez in 2024. The AI industry–funded Leading the Future has endorsed Gomez as well.

LA Progressive: Gonzales-Torres has worked with people trying to rebuild their lives after incarceration, including students connected with programs such as Project Rebound and Rising Scholars. She said housing stability is often the difference between someone completing school and falling back into crisis.

That should not be surprising. It is difficult to concentrate on an exam, report to work, or meet the demands of probation when you do not know where you are sleeping.

She has also worked on affordable housing for seniors, a population increasingly vulnerable to homelessness. Some older residents are living in recreational vehicles, temporary shelters, overcrowded homes, or unstable arrangements with relatives.

“We can tell a lot about our society by how we treat our working families, our youth, and our elders,” she said.

What they are saying about Elizabeth Lee:

Arizona Republic: Republican Mark Lamb declined an invitation to participate in a publicly funded debate ahead of the November elections, so his longshot opponent had the stage to herself, leaning into a populist economic message skeptical of data centers and criticizing the former sheriff’s new ranch business in Tennessee.

“He wants us to believe that the American Dream is a $3 million dollar ranch, 1,500 miles away from here. That’s not what we’re hearing at the doors,” Democrat Elizabeth Lee told reporters. “People are worried about how to get a first house, let alone bragging about the second one.”

Lee, a nurse and self-described patient advocate, is given slim odds of winning in Arizona’s bright-red 5th Congressional District, despite endorsements from several high-profile Democrats including Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.

NPR on the State of the Race: With Rep. Andy Biggs not seeking reelection to run for Arizona governor, voters in the district will decide between Democrat Elizabeth Lee, a nurse and political newcomer, or Lamb, who is endorsed by Trump and has a scandal-plagued past.

Lamb has been accused of racist remarks and sexual misconduct while he was Pinal County sheriff. The Arizona Republic released a multipart investigation into Mark Lamb where it alleges he had multiple affairs and sent sexually explicit messages to a woman outside his marriage then threatened to send law enforcement after her if she spoke publicly about it.

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