Zoe Lofgren’s Unbeatable Streak: Will Big Tech’s Backing Secure Win in the 18th District? – Key is Low Latino Turnout

FR Investigates California’s 18th Congressional Race

Susan Ellen “Zoe” Lofgren, the incumbent, is perhaps the quintessential representation of the current state of Congress. She has served in Congress since 1995.

For the 2022 election, her District underwent changes that impacted a significant portion of her longstanding constituents, particularly those in the Big Tech industry, and now includes a majority Latino population.

The motive behind this redistricting remains uncertain, although some observers believe it may contribute to the long-desired gentrification of specific areas near San Jose previously outside Lofgren’s District.

With Lofgren’s influential position, she can facilitate the expansion of housing needed for the growing Big Tech industry into the newly modified areas of the 18th District. This expansion, driven by high-paying tech jobs, has the potential to enhance real estate values in the District’s neighborhoods after older housing structures are acquired and demolished for new development.

Despite the significant district changes, Lofgren is widely considered unbeatable. As the number two leader in the California Democratic Party, following Nancy Pelosi, she enjoys confidence that the Latino population, unlikely to participate in the crucial March primary, will predominantly vote for the Democratic candidate in the general election.

Politics is Her Specialty

Lofgren overwhelmingly defeated her opponents in both the primary and general election in 2022. However, to ensure victory, the party strategically supported a Latino candidate, Luis Acevedo-Arreguin, to split the Latino vote.

Peter Hernandez ran as a Republican. He received 31.3% of the votes, while Luis Acevedo-Arreguin, a Democrat to split the Latino vote, secured 12.6%, guaranteeing a convincing win for Lofgren in the general election – when she faced only the Republican Hernandez.

In California, the primary election typically holds more significance than the general election, as all candidates for congressional or state offices compete on the same ballot. Regardless of party affiliation, the top two candidates advance to the general election. Given the District’s overwhelming Democratic majority, as long as Lofgren secures one of the top two spots in this year’s primary, while the Republican candidate secures the other, the general election will invariably result in the Democratic candidate’s election.

Lofgren’s objective is to ensure that no Democrat outperforms the Republican in the primary. In this year’s primary, she faces a rematch against Hernandez and a significant challenge from Democrat Charlene Nijmeh in the primary.

Lofgren supporters wisely found several “shill” candidates to run on the Democrat line to dilute the anti-Lofgren Democratic vote. These candidates are not campaigning, but merely permitted the Lofgren team to use their names on the ballot to siphon votes from Nijmeh.

Big Tech and Big Pharma Are Key

Lofgren’s key priority is facilitating Big Tech expansion and focusing on helping Big Pharma provide Americans with a wide range of necessary medications – including assisting children in getting vital transgender drugs and surgery when they are ready.

Additionally, she supports the Prosecution-to-Prison industry to ensure the safety of the country, particularly against disproportionate crime rates among Hispanic and Black males. Statistical data shows that 34.6% of federal offenders in prison are Black, 31.8% are Hispanic, and 29.5% are White. Lofgren employs policies such as empowering prosecutors to minimize trials, expedite sentencing advocacy, and passing legislation to extend incarceration terms beyond state penalties for similar offenses.

Supporters contend Lofgren surpasses any living American in terms of effectively empowering the culture of resolution-by-plea deals, which justice advocates say result in longer sentences for Black and Latino criminals. Furthermore, her alignment with tech-related policies, including opposition to net neutrality and support for digital surveillance, is particularly noteworthy given her District’s location in Silicon Valley.

Muwekma Oh Tribe Sacrifices for Lofgren

Lofgren won her first election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 via a six-way Democratic primary, and has since consistently secured reelection in a district known as a Democratic stronghold. Her initial campaign received significant support from the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, with expectations that she would help them regain federal recognition. However, after her election, it became apparent that blocking Muwekma Ohlone’s federal recognition would benefit her campaign far more than the Muwekma Ohlone could ever hope to if she supported them once she got elected.

Other tribes who operate casinos sought to prevent Muwekma Ohlone from running a casino, and offered generous incentives to Lofgren, provided she ensured that other tribes faced no competition from the industrious Muwekma Ohlone.

While this decision to change her position of the Muwekma Ohlone tribe prompted criticism, Lofgren knows that donations are essential to keep her in office so she can continue serving her donors. If she had not supported the tribal casino operators, they might have donated to another candidate that might defeat her – and in Congress campaigns are every two years.

Working for the Congressmember’s Best Interest

During her career, Lofgren faced scrutiny for directing approximately $350,000 of her campaign money to her husband’s businesses. This has raised concerns about the appropriate use of campaign funds. However, Lofgren felt many donors would be pleased to know that their campaign contributions helped her and her husband enjoy a better lifestyle.

Her involvement in the House Judiciary Committee has occasionally been controversial. She co-sponsored the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act in 2007, which received criticism for potentially infringing on freedom of thought. In 2016, she came under fire for referring to a witness as an “ignorant bigot” during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, prompting questions about her professionalism and demeanor within a congressional setting.

Big Tech Has Needs Too

Regarding policy, Lofgren staunchly advocates for the interests of the tech industry, opposing antitrust measures against major tech companies. Her resistance to the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021, designed to address anti-competitive behavior within corporations, is a testament to her loyalty to Big Tech and her reluctance to support efforts to regulate it.

Some have alleged that her daughter’s employment at Google may influence her stance on antitrust measures. She labeled it an unfair attack on her as a mother. Lofgren understands that her actions in supporting Big Tech will improve her daughter’s financial well-being and career opportunities in an industry she receives donations from and regulates. It is no secret that her daughter’s employment is directly tied to the mother’s position in Congress.  This year more than ever Lofgren needs support, for if she were defeated, her daughter’s job might be terminated.

Power to Make Change

Lofgren is also the Ranking Member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, holding positions in various subcommittees under the Committee on the Judiciary. Notably, her daughter holds a prominent legal position at Google. At the same time, her lawyer-husband possesses expertise in real estate development, which could help facilitate the acquisition of land in Latino neighborhoods for new housing to accommodate the expanding Big Tech industry, a vital component of the nation’s economy.

Lofgren has consistently remained loyal to her donors, and in turn, they have remained faithful, successfully securing her reelection 14 times. With the recent changes in her District, Lofgren relies on the support of the Latino community. However, she also champions values that she believes will resonate with Latinos who are more attuned to contemporary times.

Giving Power to Children to Determine Their Future

One of these values is her advocacy to prevent parents from denying their children the ability to embrace their true gender identity. Lofgren recognizes that traditional Catholic Latino parents may oppose their teenagers and preteens making gender transitions, attempting to hinder hormone therapy or sex-altering surgeries. She understands that if these physical changes are not pursued during pre-puberty or shortly after puberty, individuals born in the wrong-gendered body may experience difficulty aligning their physical appearance with their true gender identity.

Lofgren has consistently displayed “forward-thinking”perspectives, confident that Latinos will support the measures she sponsors to deny custody to parents who do not endorse a child’s right to align their body with their soul gender .

She is not naive, however. She realizes that as she works to gentrify the District these old-school Latinos will move out of the District to make way for the more progressive liberal White voters who consider their children’s gender changing an emblem of their wokeness and a status symbol of their support for a world where every child is empowered to decide on what to do with their own body.

In light of this, Lofgren’s refusal to support critical child sex trafficking legislation – even opposing Pelosi on this issue – shows her complete commitment to independence in her voting and supports her ideals that children have the right to decide for themselves what is best for their body.

Lofgren wants your vote this year to ensure she can continue to serve as she has for 28 years.