Several Republican and Democratic Latinos made history in the midterm elections, even as votes were still being tallied a week after Election Day in some parts of the country.
According to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, Latinos ran for top offices in 44 of the nation's 50 states.
Oregon
Two Latinas made history as Oregon’s first Hispanic members of Congress, according to NBC News projections.
Democratic state Rep. Andrea Salinas won her race against Republican businessman Mike Erickson to represent Oregon’s 6th Congressional District while Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a former suburban mayor, defeated Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner to represent the state’s 5th Congressional District.
The NBC News Decision Desk projected early Tuesday morning Salinas will win the 6th Congressional District by about 2.7 percentage points over Erickson.
“No matter who you voted for or what lies ahead, I will be your champion,” Salinas said in a statement to her new constituents. “It’s the honor of my lifetime to be your Congresswoman-elect.”
With 99% of the votes counted in the 5th Congressional District race Tuesday morning, Chavez-DeRemer won 51.1% of the votes and McLeod-Skinner 48.8%, according to the NBC News Decision Desk.
“I am excited and ready to serve the people of Oregon,” Chavez-DeRemer tweeted alongside a photo in front of the U.S. Capitol. “In D.C. this week with my husband, Shawn for New Member orientation!”
Her win also makes Chavez-DeRemer the first Republican to flip the seat that has been held by Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader since 2009.
Arizona
Juan Ciscomani is the first Latino Republican to represent the state in Congress.
Ciscomani beat Democrat Kirsten Engel to represent Arizona’s 6th Congressional District. With 99% of the votes in, Ciscomani received 50.5% versus Engel who got 49.5%, according to the NBC News Decision Desk.
“I am now honored to represent my hometown in the U.S. Congress,” Ciscomani, who is from Tucson, tweeted Monday night. “I am ready to serve, find solutions for our district’s challenges, & be a strong independent voice for our community.”
The longtime aide to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey focused his campaign on issues around border security and inflation, among others.
Before working in Ducey’s office, Ciscomani was vice president of outreach for the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, working on lowering taxes and eliminating regulations limiting small business owners, according to his campaign website. He also served as vice chair of the Arizona-Mexico Commission.
Colorado
Democratic state Rep. Yadira Caraveo made history as the state’s first Latina elected to Congress, according to NBC News projections.
With 97% of the votes counted, Caraveo won 48.4% of the votes and Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer won 47.7%, according to the NBC News Decision Desk.
Caraveo will represent the newly drawn 8th Congressional District, north of Denver, which has the largest percentage of Hispanics in the state, at 39%.
The pediatrician and daughter of Mexican immigrants was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2018.
The first Hispanic member of Congress representing Colorado, John Salazar, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004 and served until 2011.
Florida
Republican Anna Paulina Luna is Florida’s first Mexican American woman elected to Congress.
She defeated Democrat Eric Lynn in a race to represent Florida’s 13th Congressional District. With 99% of the votes in, Luna garnered 53.1% of the votes versus Lynn who received 45.1%, according to the NBC News Decision Desk, flipping the previously Democratic seat.
“Today we made history,” Luna, an Air Force veteran and nonprofit advocate, said on Twitter. “My name is Anna Paulina Luna and I am going to be the next representative for FL-13!”
Florida has had 12 Latino members of Congress, 10 of which have been of Cuban descent. The other two are of Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian descent.
Maxwell Alejandro Frost, who identifies as Afro Cuban, is the first of Generation Z to be elected to Congress.
The 25-year-old Democrat beat Republican Calvin Wimbish to represent Florida’s 10th Congressional District. With 99% of the votes in, Frost received 59% versus Wimbish who got 39.4%, according to the NBC News Decision Desk.
He will stand out among his soon-to-be peers in the halls of Congress, where the average age of House members is 58.
“Central Florida, my name is Maxwell Alejandro Frost and I’m going to be the first Generation Z member of the United States Congress!” Frost told cheering supporters in Orlando on Tuesday night.
Gen Z generally refers to those born in the late 1990s to the early 2010s.
California
Democratic candidate Robert Garcia is the first LGBTQ immigrant elected to Congress following his victory against Republican John Briscoe in a race to represent California’s 42nd Congressional District.
Garcia, who is gay and immigrated to the U.S. from Peru at age 5, was first elected as the mayor of Long Beach in 2014.
In a sweet Twitter post at the end of Election Day, Garcia shared a photo of his mother captioned, “Mom, we did it!”
According to the NBC News Decision Desk, Garcia is projected to defeat Briscoe by roughly 30 percentage points.
Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla also made history as the first Latino elected to the U.S. Senate from California; Padilla had been previously appointed to the U.S. Senate by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill in the seat vacated by Kamala Harris after becoming vice president in 2021.
The appointment officially made him the first Latino senator to represent the state.
"California made history once again," Padilla tweeted. "I am humbled and honored by the trust that Californians have placed in me."
According to the NBC News Decision Desk, Padilla is projected to defeat Republican Mark Meuser by roughly 20 percentage points.
Illinois
Democrat Delia Ramirez became the first Latina elected to Congress from Illinois after defeating Republican Justin Burau in a race to represent the state’s 3rd Congressional District.
“We just made history tonight,” Ramirez said in front of a crowd of supporters at the end of Election Day. “We broke a glass ceiling.”
Ramirez made history in 2018 as the first Guatemalan American elected to the Illinois General Assembly.
With 72% of the votes in, Ramirez had 66.9% of the votes, while Burau had 33.1%, according to the NBC News Decision Desk.
The state’s first Hispanic member of Congress was Democrat Luis Gutierrez, who was elected in 1993 and retired in January 2019. Democrat Jesús “Chuy” García was elected to replace Gutiérrez in November 2018.
New York
George Santos will be the only LGBTQ Republican in Congress following a historic House race between gay candidates vying for an open seat in New York's 3rd Congressional District.
“We did it! #NY03 has spoken! I promised one thing throughout this entire campaign: to be your champion in DC,” he wrote on Twitter. “Thank you for this opportunity to be your voice!”
The congressman-elect identifies as Latino since his parents were born in Brazil, a Latin American nation, according to his campaign website.
Santos will also become the first openly LGBTQ non-incumbent Republican elected to Congress.
Santos defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman, flipping the seat from blue to red. With 90% of the votes in, Santos obtained 54.1% versus Zimmerman who received 45.9%, according to the NBC News Decision Desk.
New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado became the first person who identifies as Latino to be elected to the office, according to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
Delgado was appointed lieutenant governor by Gov. Kathy Hochul, who took over as governor after Andrew Cuomo resigned in 2021.
Voters got to elect both candidates for the first time on Election Day.
"Honored and deeply humbled to be elected Lieutenant Governor by the people of New York," Delgado said in a Twitter post.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos is the first Dominican American to hold a lieutenant governor position in the United States, according to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
Unlike New York and other states, Rhode Island lieutenant governors are elected in a contest separate from the governor’s race.
The Democrat prevailed in her bid against Republican Aaron Guckian, winning her first full term in office.
Matos, a former Providence City Council president, was appointed lieutenant governor in April 2021 when Dan McKee became the state's governor.
"Thank You Rhode Island for giving me the honor to serve as your Lt. Governor," Matos tweeted.
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