In last Tuesday's midterm elections, Latinos became protagonists outside and inside Congress. Out, because with their turn to the left they made the Democratic victory possible; and inside, because they got a record number of representatives. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), which brings together Hispanic Democratic legislators, will have more members than ever.
"In December, the CHC will celebrate its 50th anniversary with the addition of more than 50 members to its ranks, making it the largest Congressional Hispanic Caucus in history. This milestone is a testament to the efforts of the communities, generations of leaders and advocates who have fought to ensure that Latinos have a place at the table and a voice in shaping the future of our nation," the group said in a statement Wednesday.
At least 14 Hispanic Democrats were elected on Tuesday; 10 of them in districts that are currently represented by Republicans or that were redrawn to favor the Republican Party.
“This victory was decided by Latinos who were fed up, frustrated, and under economic attack—especially when it came to medical care, the inability to make groceries, or the difficulty of putting gas in the vehicle, given that we have seen fuel prices skyrocket to exorbitant levels as a result of this reckless war in Iran—especially here, in my district, in San Antonio,” said Johnny García in a video conference yesterday, one of the Latinos who will join the the House of Representatives in January.
García won in the 35th district of Texas, where 57% of the population is Latino. It is one of the districts that were redrawn by Republicans to gain votes, but whose result was not what conservatives expected. "With the new delimitation, Trump would have won by more than 10 points. But in a district like his, the result depends on who comes to vote, and it was the Latinos who came," said María Teresa Kumar, president of Voto Latino, an organization dedicated to registering Hispanic voters.
Latino voters have traditionally complained that neither party paid them enough attention, and in these midterms, they emerged as the demographic group most likely to change parties. Latinos mobilized at the polls, breaking participation records, and caused the map of the United States to turn blue.
The cost of living, due to the rise in gasoline and basic products, was the factor that most influenced his vote. García points out that he won by understanding the voters, who identified with him. He grew up in a working class home, raised by a single mother. He worked in construction and plumbing to pay his way through community college and later worked in law enforcement in San Antonio. “When we were talking about the impact of affordability—and how the affordability crisis is wreaking havoc in this district—I knew I had to convey the frustration that exists here, at street level,” explained García, who defeated Republican candidate Carlos De La Cruz.
His sister, Mónica de la Cruz, also lost the election against Democrat Bobby Pulido, the Texan singer who took the seat of the 15th district of that same State from her, becoming the best example of the overwhelming victory of the Democrats throughout the country.
Other Latinos who will sit in the House of Representatives for the first time are Patty García, the first Hispanic to win the 4th district of Illinois; Teresa Benitzen-Thompson, who won the race in the 2nd district of Nevada, and Manny Rutinel, who won the competitive 8th district of Colorado after beating Republican representative Gabe Evans, also of Hispanic origin.
Rutinel, the son of a Dominican immigrant, stated that Latinos voted for him because he understands their economic concerns after growing up in a family that, at times, had difficulty making ends meet. “I think they chose me because they know that, for me, this is something deeply personal,” he said.
In House districts where at least a quarter of the voting-age citizen population is Hispanic, the percentage of Democratic votes in Tuesday's midterms exceeded, on average, about 11 percentage points the performance obtained by the Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, in 2024. By contrast, in other House districts, the increase was seven percentage points.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) celebrated the victory of the Latino candidates it had opted for. The DCCC invested in the most problematic races, such as those in Texas, North Carolina, Nevada, Nebraska, California, Colorado and Arizona. “While the rejection of two years of Republican rule was evident across the country, make no mistake: We also won a majority district by district thanks to our extraordinary candidates; they were, in fact, the key to our success—what I call our ‘secret ingredient,” said Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, chair of the DCCC.
One of his bets was on JoAnna Mendoza, the Hispanic candidate who won in Arizona's 6th district. The daughter of farm workers, a single mother, Mendoza served 20 years in the Navy and with the Marines. Mendoza won the race against Rep. Juan Ciscomani, a Republican serving his second term, in a highly competitive district in the southeast of that state.
More Garcías than Smiths
Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.), Rep. Gabe Vásquez (D-N.M.) and Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) — all members of the CHC — were re-elected Tuesday night. “There are more Garcias than Smiths in Congress now,” Kumar joked.
The CHC dedicated the victory to activist Dolores Huerta, who died last month at age 96 and “whose courage and lifelong commitment to justice taught generations that we must fight for our rights, that our voices must be heard, and that our communities must never be excluded or underestimated,” the committee wrote.
