2020 General Election
Lucky Man
Gil Cisneros https://cisnerosforcongress.com/ ran for Congress because he was lucky. In 2010, he won the lottery — $266 million. In 2018, he won his election – by 6,711 votes. Eleventh closest winner among the Democrats who flipped Republican seats. Lucky again.
Gil Cisneros is 48 years old. Not among the youngest new Members of Congress, but not old. His website features an article about groups emerging among the newly elected Democrats. The “Squad” – four women of color led by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The “Big Six” – leadership liaisons selected by the class itself or by the leadership. The “Gang of Nine” – ten new members from the military or the CIA. Gil Cisneros is the second oldest of the ten members of the “Gang of Nine”, the oldest among the five men by several years, and the only Hispanic.
Making his way through groups in Congress seems important to Gil Cisneros. He is a member of the Hispanic Caucus and, in the light of the heavily Asian character of his district, the Asian Pacific American Caucus. Of the three major caucuses, he joined the centrist New Democratic Coalition and the Progressive Caucus. Reflecting particular legislative interests, he joined the LGBT Equality Caucus and the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition. There are new Members of Congress who list only one membership or even none.
Because he is a little older, he had a life before politics. Two lives. Before and after his lottery win. Before he won the lottery, he was in the Navy. For eleven years. Not a full navy career, but a good one. He had a Naval ROTC scholarship to George Washington, earned an MBA from Regis University. He achieved the rank of Lt. Commander. He was a supply officer. After the navy, he was a supply officer. He was a shipping and production manager for Frito-Lay. Until he was laid off.
Even without the lay off, he was changing. He had been a Republican. Like most in the military. Like most in the corporate world. He voted for John McCain for President in 2008. Before he was laid off, he left the Republicans. He was an independent briefly, then a Democrat. He complained the Republicans had become too ideological. He did not become an ideological Democrat. In Congress he joined the progressive and the moderate Democratic group, but not the most conservative group.
His life might have been transformed by the lay off. Instead, his life was transformed by winning the lottery. Their life (he and his wife) was transformed by winning the lottery. Two weeks after Gil Cisneros was laid off, Jacki was at work at the NBC affiliate in Los Angeles. In the news room. The story their winning the lottery is a picture of the compromises of a marriage and the compromises of a future politician.
They wanted take out. She wanted KFC. He wanted Mexican. The compromise: Hawaiian BBQ. And a few lottery tickets Gil picked up with the food.
2:00am, Jacki was doing her job at KNBC. Incoming news material reports the winning lottery numbers and the location of the winning ticket purchase. The Hawaiian BBQ. She calls home, asks Gil to check the number. She was more than excited that she won. He urged calm. She wanted to do a news story. Send a camera crew. He wanted anonymity. The compromise. Less than 24 hours later, KNBC did a story for the evening news.
Gil and Jacki Cisneros bought a new house. Paid off some debts. Paid for their son’s college tuition. Went to Hawaii. Gave some money to his alma mater and hers. Spent a year in Providence, RI where he got a Master’s in Education at Brown. Created the Gil and Jacki Cisneros Foundation with a goal of at least one college degree in every Hispanic family.Gil Cisneros looked at Congress. He gave money to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He funded two interns per year to work with the Caucus. Gil Cisneros decided to run for Congress.
CA 39 was a very expensive “top two” primary race in California. The national and statewide Democratic leadership were desperately worried that too many Democrats running in California’s open primaries would yield two Republican finalists. In CA 39, the Democratic leadership assumed the incumbent Republican would be one of the finalists — until he dropped out.
The DCCC supported Gil Cisneros, picking him to be the one Democrat in the run off. Gil Cisneros had to beat back a challenge from a multi-millionaire businessman who could and did spend more than he did. The politics were tough. Gil Cisneros was pictured as a fat guy with a cigar. He was accused of sexual harassment, a claim eventually withdrawn. Gil Cisneros sued his primary opponent about how he wanted to describe himself on the ballot.
Gil Cisneros came in second in the primary with 19% of the vote. The Republican got 22% of the vote. The millionaire businessman who was Gil Cisneros’ rival? Came in fifth. In the run off, Gill Cisneros was elected with 51% of the vote.
Send Gil Cisneros https://cisnerosforcongress.com/ back to Congress. He will bring his resources to the campaign as well as incumbency and what he has learned in his two years in Congress. He is a team player. In addition to the caucuses and coalitions he joined, he supported Nancy Pelosi for Speaker. A few of the freshman Members have opposed the Leadership on a few votes. Not Gil Cisneros. Keep him as a member of the team. Provide him with some support. Even a lottery winner should not fund a Congressional campaign on his own. Send some money. Tell him what your priorities are. Let him hear from you.
New Members of the House elected in 2018 who need our support to stay there
- Ben McAdams UT 04 Elected by 694 votes
- J. Cox CA 21 Elected by 862 votes
- Kendra Horn OK 05 Elected by 3,338 votes
- Jaren Golden ME 02 Elected by 3,509 votes
- Lucy McBath GA 06 Elected by 3,634 votes
- Xochitil Torres Small NM 03 Elected by 3,722 votes
- Andy Kim NJ 03 Elected by 3,973 votes
- Joe Cunningham SC 01 Elected by 4,082 votes
- Debbie Mucarsel-Powell FL 26 Elected by 4,119 votes
- Anthony Brindisi NY 22 Elected by 4,373 votes
- Gil Cisneros CA 39 Elected by 6,711 votes
