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Historic gains for Latino senators in 2024 elections, reaching 7 members, while House numbers drop to 45. Key wins in Arizona and Ohio reshape Congress.
More Latino people than ever will join the Senate while fewer will be in the House
The number of Latino people in the Senate will reach its highest number next year, going from five to seven, after Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Republican business owner Bernie Moreno in Ohio won their races.
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The next Congress will also have some Latino lawmakers in the House who are the first of their kind to serve, even though the total number of Hispanic people in that part of Congress will go down a bit, from 48 to 45.
A new study from the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) looking at how many Latino people won and lost in Congress shows that Hispanic candidates won spots in Congress in 12 states in the 2024 election — reaching big firsts in New Jersey, Washington, Colorado and California, as well as in Arizona and Ohio.
The split between political parties for Latino senators didn't change much, according to the study. It went from three Democrats and two Republicans to four Democrats and three Republicans. In the same way, in the House, the split of Latino members of Congress went from 35 Democrats and 13 Republicans to 36 Democrats and nine Republicans.
In the U.S. Senate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, won another term, while other current Senators Alex Padilla, D-Calif.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M.; and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., didn't have to run this time.
Gallego beat Republican Kari Lake to become Arizona's first Latino senator. His win makes it the fourth Senate race in a row that Democrats have won in that state. He takes over from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic party to become independent and then decided not to run again after one term.
Moreno, who came from Colombia and became a well-known car seller in Cleveland, beat Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. The Republican businessman got support from now president-elect Donald Trump during a tough primary race. He will be the first Latino person and person of color to speak for Ohio in the Senate.
If Rubio gets picked to be Secretary of State, the number of Latino people in the Senate will go down to six.
Forty Latino people already in the House who ran again won their races while four lost their seats, according to NALEO's count. Among those who won are Luz Rivas and Gil Cisneros, who will both take over for members of Congress in California who are stepping down.
Rivas, who serves in the state assembly as a Democrat, won the 27th area. She's taking over from Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., who is leaving. Cisneros, who was in Congress before and is a Democrat, will take over from Rep. Grace Flores Napolitano, D-Calif., who is leaving the 31st area.
"Latino people ran for Congress all over the country in races that had never been won by Latino people before, both in the Senate and House," Arturo Vargas, the head of NALEO, said in a statement. "Even though there will be fewer Latino people in the House, Latino candidates from both parties did things no one had done before in this election."
In New Jersey, Democratic state Sen. Nellie Pou was picked to run instead of Rep. Bill Pascrell, a week after the 87-year-old congressman died after being in the hospital for a long time. After beating Republican Billy Prempeh in the state's 9th area race, Pou became the first Latina to speak for New Jersey in Congress.
In Colorado, Republican newcomer Gabe Evans barely beat Rep. Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo., by less than 1 out of 100 votes in an area north of Denver where many Hispanic people live. Caraveo had been the first Latina from Colorado in Congress when she won in 2022. But now Evans will be the first Latino Republican elected to serve a full time in Congress from the state, according to NALEO. Latino Rep. Greg Lopez, R-Colo., won a special election in June to finish former Rep. Ken Buck's time after he quit in March. Lopez didn't try to win a full term.
Democratic state Sen. Emily Randall became the first openly queer Latina chosen to speak for Washington's 6th area, and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, a Democrat, became the first Latino to speak for a Northern California area in Congress in more than 120 years, according to NALEO.
There will be 52 Latino members total in the next Congress starting next year.
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