An unprecedented number of Latinos candidates were elected to congress on Tuesday. When the 114th Congress convenes in January, there will be 29 Latinos serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and three in the U.S. Senate according to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO).
NALEO’s Executive Director Arturo Vargas was elated to report these historic figures. “Latino candidates made history on election night, securing groundbreaking victories in contests across the country and in both political parties,” said Vargas.
As Vargas noted, Latinos candidates did not just make gains at the national level, a record number of Hispanics won highly competitive state level elections. Nellie Gorbea made history on Tuesday when she won her bid for Secretary of State in Rhode Island, making her the first Latina elected to statewide office in New England. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Norma Torres (D-CA), and Pete Aguilar (D-CA) are among the newly elected Democratic House members that brought the total number of Latinos in Congress to 32. California’s Congressional Delegation will send a total of 10 Latino representatives, and Texas follows closely behind with 7 representatives.
Although Latino representation in Congress is not nearly indicative of the entire share of the U.S. Latino population, Vargas noted that this is a consequential step forward for the community because, “Latinos will continue to shape the nation’s political landscape as candidates, demonstrating their ability to lead and win at all levels of office.”
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