Biography

Senator  

Eloise Gómez Reyes  

Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes was elected to represent California’s 29th Senate District in 2024, continuing a career of public service rooted in the Inland Empire community where she was born and raised. A proud daughter of immigrants, Reyes has dedicated her career to expanding opportunity, strengthening representation, and ensuring that working families and historically underserved communities have a meaningful voice in the decisions that shape their lives.

Reyes was recently elected by her colleagues to serve as Vice Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus for the 2027-28 Legislative Session. Before her election to the Senate, Reyes served eight years in the California State Assembly, where she rose to become Majority Leader in 2020—the first Latina and only the fourth woman in California history to serve in that role. She previously served as Assistant Majority Whip and held numerous other legislative and caucus leadership positions.

In the Senate, Reyes continues to bring the priorities and experiences of Inland Empire communities to the forefront of state policymaking. As Chair of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy and Chair of the Senate Legislative Ethics Committee, she is helping shape decisions that affect California’s environment, energy future and public resources while advancing transparency and accountability in state government. She also serves on the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee.

Throughout her legislative career, Reyes has championed policies that expand educational and economic opportunity, protect workers and families, advance environmental justice, and create pathways for Californians who have too often been left behind. Her landmark AB 2147 helped lead a national conversation about second chances by allowing formerly incarcerated firefighters to seek expungement of their records and pursue careers in firefighting after their release.

Education has been a cornerstone of Reyes’ work. After identifying hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid that California students were leaving unused, she championed legislation requiring high school students to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADAA), helping more students and families access financial aid and pursue higher education.

Representing communities that experience some of the nation’s most severe air pollution, Reyes has made environmental justice a central priority. She has authored laws and secured state investments to improve air, land, and water quality throughout the Inland Empire while strengthening transparency and accountability for industrial development that can disproportionately affect working families and historically underserved communities.

Long before entering elected office, Reyes built her career breaking barriers and serving her community. She was the first Latina to open her own law firm in the Inland Empire, where she spent decades providing legal services to individuals and families who often lacked access to representation.

Reyes is a graduate of Colton High School and San Bernardino Valley College. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and her law degree from Loyola Law School.