Robert Garcia, who has led the Southern California city of Long Beach as its first openly gay and first Latino mayor since 2014, is running for an open House seat.
He is the fourth out man, and the third of color, to launch a 2022 congressional bid in the Golden State. As soon as Congressman Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), a former Long Beach city councilmember and state senator, announced his retirement December 16, speculation immediately turned to Garcia seeking to succeed him.
As the Bay Area Reporter noted in 2019, the rising Democratic politician was already being talked about as a possible House contender due to his ruling out running for a state legislative seat.