Balekian is an Unlikely Republican Candidate for Congress in Los Angeles County
Los Angeles, CA – The intensive care physician, who was juggling his medical practice simultaneously with his political campaign for California’s 30th Congressional district, had raised for the Primaries a modest sum compared to his opponents — California Assembly member, State Senator, Los Angeles City Attorney, and LAUSD board member — all boasting over $1 million in contributions. He was even outraised by the drag queen who had made the runoff election against Adam Schiff two years prior. But on election night in March 2024, Balekian secured second place, nearly 5 points ahead of State Senator Anthony Portantino and former LA City Attorney Mike Feuer, qualifying for the November general election against Assembly member Laura Friedman.
The simplistic explanation is that multiple Democratic candidates split the vote. However, Balekian and his Republican challenger securing nearly 22% of the open primary vote in a district where only 15% of voters are registered Republicans. Balekian, a Glendale-born and raised physician, is a Middle Eastern, the son of immigrants, pro-choice, who never ran for public office before. He is also married to a man.
Balekian describes himself as a Deukmejian Republican and a disenfranchised Republican for the last 20 years. He started the race as a no party preference candidate before redesignating his campaign as Republican two months later). His campaign platform — keep the streets clean and safe, stay out of my bank account, stay out of my family life — resonates with district voters who desire law and order, lower taxes, and less government intrusion into personal lives. Although he eschews identity politics, his non-traditional background nonetheless offers various voter groups reasons to support him.
California’s 30th Congressional district, far from being a monolith, includes bedroom communities like Glendale, Burbank, Sunland/Tujunga, and parts of Pasadena, as well as dense urban zones like Hollywood, West Hollywood, and Silverlake. Voter blocs include Armenians, Latinos, and Koreans in the northeastern parts of the district, as well as gay/lesbian communities in West Hollywood, and Orthodox Jewish and Russian-Jewish communities in the Fairfax and Hancock Park neighborhoods.
Balekian is framing his campaign strategy not as a battle of Democrat versus Republican, but Progressive versus non-Progressive. “Progressive isn’t working, and my fiscally-responsible, socially-sane platform, where I prioritize ideas over identity politics, is precisely the clarion call that will attract disenfranchised voters of all stripes—moderate Democrats, Independents, and moderate Republicans—who have grown tired of the extreme polarization of the two-party system.
