Matthew G. Martínez

State assembly

In 1980, Martínez defeated incumbent Jack R. Fenton in the Democratic primary election in California's 59th State Assembly district. He was elected to the California State Assembly with no major-party opponent.^[3]

Congress

In 1982 George E. Danielson left the U.S. House of Representatives to take the bench. Martínez won the special election to succeed him, and was reelected nine times by varying margins.

In his first term in Congress he was assigned to the Education and Labor Committee. In the 99th Congress (1985–87) he chaired the Subcommittee on Employment Opportunities. In 1991, he became the Chairman of the Human Resources Subcommittee. In 1992, Martínez was named to the Foreign Affairs Committee, and served on the Subcommittee on International Security, International Organizations and Human Rights.

Defeat

In 2000, Martínez was defeated in the Democratic primary by liberal State Senator Hilda Solis 62% to 29%. She charged that he was out of touch with his district when he voted to ban partial-birth abortion and opposed gun control. He was both Roman Catholic and a member of the National Rifle Association.^[2] While he had been a reliably Democratic vote on most issues throughout his congressional career, after his primary loss Martínez began to vote overwhelmingly with Republicans. On July 27, 2000, Martínez switched to the Republican Party, arguing that the Democrats had abandoned him. There was no Republican candidate on the ballot in the district for the 2000 election, and Martínez declined to attempt a write-in candidacy, though he remained critical of Solis and promised to stay active in the Republican Party.^[4] His term in Congress ended on January 3, 2001, at the end of the 106th Congress.