Oct. 8, 2025, 11:43 a.m.
Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ 07) has waited several weeks to be sworn into the seat previously held by her father, the late-Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D). When House Speaker Mike Johnson decides to make the call, Grijalva will become the first Latina member of Congress from Arizona.
With the addition of Grijalva, 33 Latina congresswomen across a record 12 states have been elected to Congress all time, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at the Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics. Despite making up roughly 7% of the population, Latina Americans are set to represent only 3.7% of members in the current Congress.
Several Latina candidates are looking to increase those margins in the midterms.
2024 AZ-01 candidate Marlene Galán-Woods (D) and Marine Corps veteran JoAnna Mendoza (D) are looking to join Grijalva in the Grand Canyon State’s congressional delegation.
Mendoza, a self-proclaimed Chicana, is running against Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ 06) in his southeastern Arizona district. Mendoza told Hotline at EMILYs List’s New York City luncheon on Monday that she’s drawing from her upbringing as the daughter of impoverished farm workers to focus on the rising cost of living in her district, highlighting its disproportionate impacts on marginalized communities.
“Latinas are leading the way in a battleground state,” Mendoza said. “We need people who understand the struggle, who understand the challenges, who have been underrepresented and marginalized, because those are the people that are going to prioritize policies for our family.”
Galán-Woods, a former TV news anchor of Cuban descent, is running again in the 1st District after placing third in last year’s Democratic primary. But this time, she’ll be running for an open seat, as incumbent Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ 01) is campaigning for governor.
“We might go from zero Latinas in Arizona to a third of our delegation,” Galán-Woods told Hotline during a virtual press conference hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ BOLD PAC last Thursday.
Some congressional hopefuls could become the first Latina congresswomen in their states. Political operative Denise Powell (D), the daughter of Cuban immigrants, is looking to replace retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE 02). Energy engineering manager Carol Obando-Derstine (D), who immigrated from Colombia at age 3, is running to challenge Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA 07).
“It’s important to have folks in Congress that understand the struggles that working families face because they live them, and that’s an important part of my background that I talk about all the time,” Obando-Derstine told Hotline on Monday. “My mom worked in a factory and my dad worked in hospitals. These were both folks that had union jobs that gave us a shot.”
Latina Republicans could increase their own ranks next year. Several Latina candidates could benefit from the Texas GOP’s mid-decade congressional redistricting, including former Army captain Alexandra del Moral Mealer (R) in TX-09 and former Rep. Mayra Flores (R) in TX-34. Latina Republicans are also looking to flip seats elsewhere like Clifton City Councilwoman Rosie Pino (R) in NJ-09 and Clark County School Board trustee Lydia Dominguez (R) in NV-03.
“Latina women are leading in so many different areas,” Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA 38), BOLD PAC’s chairwoman, told Hotline. “It makes sense that it is our time. It is our moment politically to shine.”
— Nicholas Anastácio
nanastacio@nationaljournal.com
