Reelect Congressional Representative Maxine Waters to keep CA-43 on the right track for progress.

The Position

Congressmembers represent and advocate for the needs of their district constituents at the United States Capitol. They are responsible for creating, debating, and voting on legislation that addresses issues within their district.

The United States is divided into 435 congressional districts, each with a population of about 710,000 individuals. Each district elects a representative to the House of Representatives for a two-year term. California has 53 congressional representatives, the largest delegation in the country. There is no term limit for this position.

The District

California's 43rd Congressional District includes parts of Los Angeles County. Democrats typically hold this district. Of the registered voters in this district, 10% are Republican and 62% are Democrat, and the district’s demographic breakdown is 44% Latino, 9% Asian, and 34% Black. After the 2021 redistricting process, CA-43 is 7% more Democratic than it was during the 2020 general election cycle. The most recent election results show that CD-43 voted for Joe Biden for president in 2020 by 64 points and Gavin Newsom for governor in 2018 by 66 points.

The Race

There are four candidates running for this seat, including Democrat Incumbent Representative Maxine Waters, and Republican Omar Navarro. Rep. Waters’s campaign has raised $673,000 and is not funded by police or fossil fuel money. Navarro’s campaign has raised $71,000, and is funded entirely by individual donors.

The Recommendation

Rep. Maxine Waters, a member of the House of Representatives since 1990, is from St. Louis, MO. She moved to Los Angeles in 1961. According to campaign materials, she is running for reelection to continue to advocate for the needs of her constituents, and to hold powerful interests to account. Rep. Waters won her 2020 reelection against Republican Joe Collins by 44 points.

Rep. Waters’s priorities for CA-43 this year have included 27 bills about housing, community development, economics, and health care. Of these, nearly all are currently in committee. She currently serves as chair of the Financial Services Committee, and as the chair of the subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. This year, Rep. Waters has voted 100% of the time with Nancy Pelosi and 94% of the time with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She voted in favor of the INVEST in America Act, the establishment of the National Pulse Memorial to honor mass shooting victims in Florida, and the Libya Stabilization Act, while Rep. Ocasio-Cortez voted in opposition. Additionally, Rep. Waters did not support the War Crimes Rewards Expansion Act or the Cambodia Democracy Act, while Rep. Ocasio-Cortez voted in favor.

Prior to her election to Congress, Rep. Waters served for 14 years in the California State Assembly, where she was Democratic Caucus chair. She joined the DNC in 1980, worked on five Democratic presidential campaigns between 1980 and 1996, and was involved in the DNC’s establishment of the National Development and Voting Rights Institute. She is a longtime supporter of economic development, health-care access, and housing support. Rep. Waters has worked to fund youth workforce and adult skills-training programs, to increase funding for HIV/AIDS research and treatment, and to shore up grants to reduce foreclosures and homelessness.

Rep. Waters is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and has the endorsement of many progressive groups in the district. Based on our analysis, Rep. Waters’s track record and policy positions demonstrate that she will continue to be a progressive champion for the constituents of CA-43 and will govern effectively in the best interest of this diverse district. Close Window