Adelita Grijalva Is Poised To Make History For Latinas In Congress

Introduction to Adelita Grijalva’s Congressional Campaign

Adelita Grijalva secured the Democratic nomination this week for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District special election to fill the vacancy created by her father’s death. Grijalva is the daughter of U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalva, an 11-term congressman. If successful in September, she will become the first Latina to represent Arizona in Congress and will bump Latina representation in Congress to an all-time high, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

Current State of Latina Representation in Congress

Nineteen Latinas currently serve in Congress, including 18 representatives and one senator. They hold 3.6% of congressional seats despite Latinas being about 10% of the U.S. population.

Notable Gains in the Past Decade

The gains for Latinas at the congressional level have been notable in the past decade. In 2017, Democrat Catherine Cortez-Masto became the first Latina in the U.S. Senate. In 2018, five new Latinas were elected to Congress, including the first two Latinas to represent Texas. Over the next six years, 14 more non-incumbent Latinas were elected to the U.S. House, including the first Latinas to represent Colorado, Illinois, Oregon and New Jersey. Combined, the 19 Latinas who entered Congress for the first time since 2019 represent nearly 60% of the 32 Latinas that have served as voting members of Congress to date.

Opportunities for Growth in Latina Representation

Despite these gains, Latina congressional representation has held steady since January 2023. Three new Latinas were elected to the U.S. House in 2024, but those gains were offset by the departures of three Latina incumbents due to retirement and electoral defeat. The special election in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, which will be held on September 23, is the next opportunity to bump Latina congressional representation to a new high of 20.

Adelita Grijalva’s Campaign and Arizona’s Latina Representation

Adelita Grijalva won Tuesday’s Democratic primary to replace her father with nearly two-thirds of the vote. She is favored to win the general election in a district to which her father won re-election in November 2024 by nearly 30 points. Grijalva brings her own record of public service to this year’s special election, first elected to public office in 2002 as a member of the Tucson Unified School District’s Governing Board and elected in 2020 to the Pima County Board of Supervisors. If she wins in September, Grijalva will be the ninth woman and the first Latina to represent Arizona in the U.S. Congress.

Research on Latina Congressional Candidacies

Dr. Anna Sampaio has documented the concentration of Latina congressional candidacies and success in a small number of states, as well as the distinct experiences, opportunities and obstacles to Latinas running for congressional offices. Her research, focusing specifically on California and Texas, calls for expanding opportunities for Latinas to run and win outside of those states that she identifies as having “critical or growing capacity of Latina/o/x voters.” Arizona is among those states. Almost one-third of Arizona’s population is Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census. And 25% of the state’s eligible voters in the 2024 election were Latino, according to an analysis by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute. Still, no Latina has yet served in Arizona’s congressional delegation. This fact stands in contrast to the success of Latinas in Arizona’s state legislature, where they hold 20% of all seats and are nearly 50% of all women legislators.

Conclusion

There remain more opportunities for growth in Latina congressional representation. Only one Latina has served in the U.S. Senate. And even if Grijalva marks this milestone for Arizona, 38 more states will remain that have never sent a Latina to Congress.

FAQs

Q: How many Latinas currently serve in Congress?
A: Nineteen Latinas currently serve in Congress, including 18 representatives and one senator.
Q: What percentage of congressional seats do Latinas hold?
A: Latinas hold 3.6% of congressional seats despite being about 10% of the U.S. population.
Q: Who is Adelita Grijalva and what is her significance in the upcoming special election?
A: Adelita Grijalva is the daughter of U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalva and has secured the Democratic nomination for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District special election. If she wins, she will become the first Latina to represent Arizona in Congress.
Q: What is the current state of Latina representation in Arizona’s congressional delegation?
A: No Latina has yet served in Arizona’s congressional delegation, despite Latinas holding 20% of all seats in Arizona’s state legislature.