Democrats and Republicans together had a record-high number of Hispanic candidates on the ballot in congressional races this week, but initial election results indicate voters have elected fewer Hispanics than in years past.
Just 36 House and Senate candidates have clenched seats out of the 90 that ran Tuesday. Another 41 lost their races and 13 others have yet to be called as of Friday afternoon.
Regardless of the final results, Hispanic candidates are only capable of hitting 49 wins this year, putting them short of 51 this session. It is the first decline in Hispanic representation since 2006.
‘Year of the Republican Latina’ was not
Republicans were poised to double their 13 members of the House and two senators, but stand at just nine total. Twenty-three of the 33 GOP candidates have lost and another seven remain in the balance.
“This year is going to be the year of the Latina Republican,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the top conservative in the House, told the Washington Examiner before the election.
Of the 14 Republican women who ran in the House, four won and 10 lost.
History of Hispanics in Congress
The number of Hispanic lawmakers has risen steadily over the past two decades. A Pew Research Center analysis revealed that at the start of the 107th Congress in 2001, just 19 members were Hispanic.
Over a decade, that number grew to 29. In the 117th Congress, the gains continued with 51 Hispanic members in office, including six senators.
Heading into the midterm elections, the Democratic Party had more Hispanic members in the House and Senate than the Republican Party. Of the 220 Democrats in the House, 36 were Hispanic. Hispanic Democrats also served in four of the 48 seats in the Senate.
In the House, 53 candidates were Democrats and 33 were Republicans. Both parties had a pair of Hispanic Senate candidates on the ballot.
REPUBLICANS
WON: 7 of 33 House candidates (* denotes newcomer)
Monica De La Cruz, Texas 15th *
Mario Diaz-Balart, Florida 26th
Maria Elvira-Salazar, Florida 27th
Carlos Gimenez, Florida 28th
Tony Gonzales, Texas 23rd
Nicole Malliotakis, New York 11th
Anna Paulina Luna, Florida 13th *
LOST: 23 of 33
Irene Armendariz Jackson, Texas 16th *
Marcos Arroyo, New Jersey 8th *
Jonathan Chavez, Georgia 4th *
Chris Gonzales, California 46th *
Mayra Flores, Texas 34th
Cassy Garcia, Texas 28th *
Michelle Garcia Holmes, New Mexico 1st *
Mark Gonsalves, Georgia 7th *
Caesar Gonzales, Georgia 13th *
Peter Hernandez, California 18th *
Catalina Lauf, Illinois 11th *
George Logan, Connecticut 5th *
Dan Martinez, California 31st *
Alexis Martinez Johnson, New Mexico 3rd*
Carmen Montiel, Texas 18th *
Yuripzy Morgan, Maryland 3rd *
Jesus Navarro, Florida 24th *
Omar Navarro, California, 43rd *
Juan Pagan, New York 7th *
Luis Pozzolo, Arizona 7th *
Jenny Garcia Sharon, Texas 37th *
Anthony Swad, Texas 32nd *
Yesli Vega, Virginia 7th *
UNDECLARED: 3 of 33
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Oregon 5th *
Juan Ciscomani, Arizona 6th *
Mike Garcia, California 27th
DEMOCRATS
WON: 27 of 53 House candidates (* denotes newcomer)
Pete Aguilar, California 33rd
Nanette Barragan, California 44th
Salud Carbajal, California 24th
Tony Cardenas, California 29th
Greg Casar, Texas 35th *
Joaquin Castro, Texas 20th
Lou Correa, California 46th
Henry Cuellar, Texas 28th
Veronica Escobar, Texas 16th
Adriano Espaillat, New York 13th
Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Florida 10th *
Ruben Gallego, Arizona 3rd
Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Illinois 4th
Robert Garcia, California 42nd *
Sylvia Garcia, Texas 29th
Vicente Gonzalez, Texas 34th
Raul Grijalva, Arizona 7th
Teresa Leger Fernandez, New Mexico 3rd
Bob Menendez, New Jersey 8th *
Grace Napolitano, California 31st
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York 14th
Delia Ramirez, Illinois 3rd *
Darren Soto, Florida 9th
Ritchie Torres, New York 15th
Juan Vargas, California 52nd
Gabe Vasquez, New Mexico 2nd *
Nydia Velazquez, New York 7th
LOST: 17 of 53
Joseph Alfonso, Michigan 4th *
Robert Asencio, Florida 28th *
Shamaine Daniels, Pennsylvania 10th *
Antonio Daza, Georgia 11th *
Angelica Duenas, California 29th *
Bob Hernandez, Kansas 4th *
John Lira, Texas 23rd *
Rosalinda “Linda” Nuno, Texas 10th *
Maclovio Perez, Texas 27th *
Javier Ramos, Arizona 5th *
Corinna Balderramos Robinson, Florida 21st *
Raul Ruiz, California 25th
Annette Taddeo, Florida 27th *
David Torres, Colorado 5th *
Michelle Vallejo, Texas 15th *
Tony Vargas, Nebraska 2nd *
Claudia Zapata, Texas 21st *
UNDECLARED: 9 of 53
David Canepa, California 15th *
Yadira Caraveo, Colorado 8th *
Jimmy Gomez, California 34th
Mike Levin, California 49th
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Washington 3rd *
Rudy Salas, California 22nd *
Andrea Salinas, Oregon 6th *
Linda Sanchez, California 38th
Norma Torres, California 35th
Senate Republican candidates on the ballot (* denotes new candidate)
Lost: Leora Levy, Connecticut *
Winner: Marco Rubio, Florida
Senate Democratic candidates on the 2022 ballot
Undecided: Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada
Winner: Alex Padilla, California
