Hilda Solis backs Eloise Gomez Reyes for Gary Miller’s House seat

Former U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis has endorsed Colton attorney Eloise Gomez Reyes from among the growing field of candidates competing for an open Inland Empire congressional district seat.

“In this day and age when the powerful special interests are gaining even more power, the working families that make our country strong need a strong voice and their own tenacious fighter in Congress,” Solis said in a statement released Monday by the Reyes campaign.

“Eloise Gomez Reyes is the person for the job. She has spent her entire career fighting for working families and people who can’t fight for themselves,” added Solis, who served in the state Legislature and Congress before becoming the first Latina labor secretary.

Solis’ backing is the second major endorsement for Reyes in less than a week: On Friday she won support from Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles).

Reyes is one of four Democrats and three Republicans campaigning to replace Rep. Gary Miller (R-Rancho Cucamonga), who has announced he will retire at the end of the year.

The 31st District is increasingly Democratic, and many observers were predicting Miller would have a hard time holding the seat.

The campaign arm of House Democrats and at least one local Democratic club decided early in the race to back Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar.

Aguilar was favored to win the seat two years ago but failed to make the general election ballot when the four Democrats in the race splintered their party’s vote. Under the state’s new top-two primary system, that allowed the two Republicans in the race, including Miller, to advance to the fall contest.

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