Latinas Represent

Past Coverage

A slew of Latina candidates for Congress are looking to make history as ‘firsts’

The races are being run at a time when Latina political underrepresentation persists at all levels of public office, according to a new report from the Center for American Women and Politics and Latinas Represent released Wednesday. Despite making up about 9.3% of the U.S. population, Latinas make up less than 3% of officials elected to statewide executive offices, state legislatures and Congress.

Keeping Score: Women Win Big in the Winter Olympics; State Legislatures Widen the Abortion Access Gap; Supreme Court Dilutes the Power of Black Voters in Alabama

“There are these classist, racist and sexist ideas of who can and should be a leader in this country,” said LatinasRepresent program director Stephanie Lopez. “And women of color have the additional burden of tackling those three issues head on. I think the media does play a significant role in the narratives that are created around these particular individuals.”

The U.S. Is Long Overdue for “Madam President’s Day”: Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, about 70 of the world’s 193 countries have had a female head of state. Interestingly, the United States is one of a handful of the world’s most populous countries (others include China, Russia, Nigeria and Mexico) that have never elected a woman leader. While there are many reasons that a woman hasn’t been elected president in the U.S., it’s clear that there are many binders brimming with women who are more than qualified.

Latinas Are Running for Governor Like Never Before

At least 1,000 men have been governors throughout U.S. history; only 45 women have been. New Mexico has elected the only two Latina governors, Lujan Grisham and Republican Susan Martinez. Republican Nikki Haley of South Carolina is the only other woman of color to be elected governor. There have never been more than nine female governors at any given time, and there have never been more than two women of color governing at the same time. The time is now.

‘The Bench is Loaded’: A Record Number of Latinas are Running for Governor

Six Latinas are on major-party primary ballots this year, a number that still could grow. Only one, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, is an incumbent. Many of the others are in crowded primaries, running against candidates with major fundraising power. But, like Taddeo, many feel they’ve been underestimated before, running and winning without robust party support. And, experts say, even if they don’t win their party’s nomination, the Latina candidates are shaping the conversations in those races.