[5] In 2008, Torres endorsed then-presidential candidate Barack Obama before Hillary Clinton withdrew from the race, and was a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention.

[7][4] Torres was elected to the U.S. House of Representative for California's 35th congressional district in 2014, defeating Christina Gagnier (D) with 63.5% of the vote.

After being reelected to the House in November 2022, Torres accused President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador of interfering in her race.

[14][15] She opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling it "devastating" and saying it set back "our country decades, reversing so many years of hard-fought progress" for women.

[16] In 2022, Torres was one of 16 Democrats to vote against the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.