List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
This is a list of Hispanic and Latino Americans who have served in the United States Congress.
In addition to the members of Congress listed below, Charles Gayarré was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat from Louisiana in 1834, but resigned on account of ill health prior to taking his seat.
Contents
Senate
| Picture | Senator | Party | State | Term | Hispanic Ancestry; Place of birth | Reason for leaving |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Charles Dominique Joseph Bouligny (1773–1833) [1] |
Adams-Clay Republican | Louisiana | 1824-1829 |  Spain; born in  New Orleans, Louisiana |
Retired |
 |
Judah P. Benjamin (1811–1884) |
Democrat | Louisiana | 1853-1861 | Spain; born in Saint Croix, United States Virgin Islands |
Resigned when Louisiana seceded from the Union |
 |
Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo (1859–1930) |
Republican | New Mexico | 1928-1929 |  Mexico; born in Chihuahua, Mexico |
Retired |
 |
Dennis Chavez (1888–1962) |
Democrat | New Mexico | 1935-1962 | Spain; born in Los Chaves, New Mexico |
Died in office |
 |
Joseph Montoya (1915–1978) |
Democrat | New Mexico | 1964-1977 | Spain; born in Peña Blanca, New Mexico |
Defeated |
 |
John E. Sununu (b. 1964) |
Republican | New Hampshire | 2003-2009 |  Cuba &  El Salvador; born in Boston, Massachusetts |
Defeated |
 |
Mel Martínez (b. 1946) |
Republican | Florida | 2005-2009 | Cuba; born in Sagua La Grande, Cuba |
Resigned. Served as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2001 to 2003. |
 |
Ken Salazar (b. 1955) |
Democrat | Colorado | 2005-2009 | Mexico; born in Alamosa, Colorado |
Resigned to become United States Secretary of the Interior |
 |
Bob Menendez (b. 1954) |
Democrat | New Jersey | 2006–present | Cuba; born in New York, New York |
|
 |
Marco Rubio (b. 1971) |
Republican | Florida | 2011–present | Cuba; born in Miami, Florida |
|
 |
Ted Cruz (b. 1970) |
Republican | Texas | 2013–present | Cuba; born in  Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
House of Representatives
| Picture | Representative | Party | State | Term | Reason for leaving |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Alcée Louis la Branche (1806-1881) |
Democrat | Louisiana | 1843-1845 | Retired |
 |
John Edward Bouligny (1824-1864) |
American (Know-Nothing) | Louisiana | 1859-1861 | Retired; was only congressman from Louisiana not to resign when the state seceded from the Union |
 |
Romualdo Pacheco (1831-1899) |
Republican | California | 1877-1878, 1879-1883 | Lost election challenge & Retired; was also the first and only Hispanic Governor of California and the first Hispanic Governor in the United States. |
 |
Albert Estopinal (1845-1919) |
Democrat | Louisiana | 1908-1919 | Died in office |
 |
Ladislas Lazaro (1872-1927) |
Democrat | Louisiana | 1913-1927 | Died in office |
 |
Benigno C. Hernández (1862-1954) |
Republican | New Mexico | 1915-1917 1919-1921 |
Defeated & Retired |
| Rep. Montoya | Néstor Montoya (1862-1923) |
Republican | New Mexico | 1921-1923 | Died in office |
|
Dennis Chavez (1888-1962) |
Democrat | New Mexico | 1931-1935 | Elected as the United States Senator for New Mexico |
 |
Joachim O. Fernández (1896-1978) |
Democrat | Louisiana | 1931-1941 | Defeated |
| Rep. Fernandez | Antonio M. Fernández (1902-1956) |
Democrat | New Mexico | 1943-1956 | Died in office |
|
Joseph Montoya (1915-1978) |
Democrat | New Mexico | 1957-1964 | Elected as the United States Senator for New Mexico |
 |
Henry B. Gonzalez (1916-2000) |
Democrat | Texas | 1961-1999 | Retired |
 |
Edward R. Roybal (1916-2005) |
Democrat | California | 1963-1993 | Retired |
 |
Kika de la Garza (b. 1927) |
Democrat | Texas | 1965-1997 | Retired |
 |
Manuel Lujan, Jr. (b. 1928) |
Republican | New Mexico | 1969-1989 | Retired and became United States Secretary of the Interior |
 |
Charles B. Rangel (b. 1930) |
Democrat | New York | 1971–present | |
 |
Herman Badillo (1929-2014) |
Democrat | New York | 1973-1977 | Resigned to become Deputy Mayor of New York City and later joined the Republican Party |
 |
Robert García (b. 1933) |
Democrat | New York | 1978-1990 | Resigned and jailed due to the Wedtech scandal |
| Rep. Martinez | Matthew G. Martinez (1929-2011) |
Democrat 1982-2000, Republican 2000-2001 | California | 1982-2001 | Lost re-nomination and joined the Republican Party |
 |
Bill Richardson (b. 1943) |
Democrat | New Mexico | 1983-1997 | Resigned to become United States Ambassador to the United Nations |
| Rep. Ortiz | Solomon P. Ortiz (b. 1937) |
Democrat | Texas | 1983-2011 | Defeated |
| Rep. Torres | Esteban Edward Torres (b. 1930) |
Democrat | California | 1983-1999 | Retired |
 |
Barbara Vucanovich (1921-2013) |
Republican | Nevada | 1983-1997 | Though Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is widely credited as the first Hispanic woman in Congress, Vucanovich's mother was of partial Hispanic heritage Retired |
 |
Albert Bustamante (b. 1935) |
Democrat | Texas | 1985-1993 | Defeated and convicted of accepting bribes and racketeering in 1993 and was sentenced to 42 months in prison |
 |
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (b. 1952) |
Republican | Florida | 1989–present | First female Hispanic and first Cuban American elected to Congress |
 |
José Serrano (b. 1943) |
Democrat | New York | 1990–present | |
 |
Ed Pastor (b. 1943) |
Democrat | Arizona | 1991–2015 | Retired |
| Rep. Tejeda | Frank Tejeda (b. 1945-1997) |
Democrat | Texas | 1993-1997 | Died in office |
|
Bob Menendez (b. 1954) |
Democrat | New Jersey | 1993-2006 | Resigned to accept appointment as a United States Senator from New Jersey |
 |
Xavier Becerra (b. 1958) |
Democrat | California | 1993–present | |
 |
Henry Bonilla (b. 1954) |
Republican | Texas | 1993–2007 | Defeated |
 |
Lincoln Diaz-Balart (b. 1954) |
Republican | Florida | 1993–2011 | Retired |
| Rep. Gutiérrez | Luis Gutiérrez (b. 1953) |
Democrat | Illinois | 1993–present | |
 |
Lucille Roybal-Allard (b. 1941) |
Democrat | California | 1993–present | |
 |
Nydia Velázquez (b. 1953) |
Democrat | New York | 1993–present | |
|
John E. Sununu (b. 1964) |
Republican | New Hampshire | 1997–2003 | Retired to run successfully for the United States Senate from New Hampshire |
 |
Silvestre Reyes (b. 1944) |
Democrat | Texas | 1997–2013 | Lost re-nomination |
 |
Ciro Rodriguez (b. 1946) |
Democrat | Texas | 1997–2005, 2007–2011 | Lost re-nomination & Defeated |
 |
Rubén Hinojosa (b. 1940) |
Democrat | Texas | 1997–present | |
 |
Loretta Sanchez (b. 1960) |
Democrat | California | 1997–present | |
 |
Joe Baca (b. 1947) |
Democrat | California | 1999–2013 | Defeated; joined the Republican Party after leaving office |
 |
Charlie Gonzalez (b. 1945) |
Democrat | Texas | 1999–2013 | Retired |
| Rep. Napolitano | Grace Napolitano (b. 1936) |
Democrat | California | 1999–present | |
 |
Hilda Solis (b. 1957) |
Democrat | California | 2001–2009 | Resigned to become United States Secretary of Labor |
 |
Mario Diaz-Balart (b. 1961) |
Republican | Florida | 2003–present | |
 |
Raúl Grijalva (b. 1948) |
Democrat | Arizona | 2003–present | |
 |
Linda Sánchez (b. 1969) |
Democrat | California | 2003–present | |
 |
Henry Cuellar (b. 1955) |
Democrat | Texas | 2005–present | |
 |
John Salazar (b. 1953) |
Democrat | Colorado | 2005–2011 | Defeated |
 |
Albio Sires (b. 1951) |
Democrat | New Jersey | 2006–present | |
 |
Ben R. Luján (b. 1972) |
Democrat | New Mexico | 2009–present | |
 |
John Garamendi (b. 1945) |
Democrat | California | 2009–present | |
 |
Francisco "Quico" Canseco (b. 1949) |
Republican | Texas | 2011–2013 | Defeated |
 |
Bill Flores (b. 1954) |
Republican | Texas | 2011–present | |
 |
Jaime Herrera (b. 1978) |
Republican | Washington | 2011–present | |
 |
Raúl Labrador (b. 1967) |
Republican | Idaho | 2011–present | |
 |
David Rivera (b. 1965) |
Republican | Florida | 2011–2013 | Defeated |
 |
Tony Cardenas (b. 1963) |
Democrat | California | 2013–present | |
 |
Joaquín Castro (b. 1974) |
Democrat | Texas | 2013–present | |
 |
Pete Gallego (b. 1961) |
Democrat | Texas | 2013–2015 | Defeated |
| Rep. Garcia | Joe Garcia (b. 1963) |
Democrat | Florida | 2013–2015 | Defeated |
 |
Michelle Lujan Grisham (b. 1959) |
Democrat | New Mexico | 2013–present | |
 |
Gloria Negrete McLeod (b. 1941) |
Democrat | California | 2013–2015 | Retired to run unsuccessfully for San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors |
 |
Raul Ruiz (b. 1972) |
Democrat | California | 2013–present | |
 |
Ron DeSantis (b. 1978) |
Republican | Florida | 2013–present | |
 |
Juan Vargas (b. 1961) |
Democrat | California | 2013–present | |
 |
Filemon Vela, Jr. (b. 1963) |
Democrat | Texas | 2013–present | |
 |
Pete Aguilar (b. 1979) |
Democratic | California | 2015–present | |
 |
Carlos Curbelo (b. 1980) |
Republican | Florida | 2015–present | |
 |
Ruben Gallego (b. 1979) |
Democratic | Arizona | 2015–present | |
 |
Alex Mooney (b. 1971) |
Republican | West Virginia | 2015–present | |
 |
Norma Torres (b. 1965) |
Democratic | California | 2015–present |
House Delegates (non-voting members)
| Representative | Party | Territory | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Marion Hernández (1788-1857) |
Whig | Florida Territory | 1822-1823 |
| José Manuel Gallegos (1815-1875) |
Democrat | New Mexico Territory | 1853-1856 1871-1873 |
| Miguel Antonio Otero (1829-1882) |
Democrat | New Mexico Territory | 1856-1861 |
| Francisco Perea (1830-1913) |
Republican | New Mexico Territory | 1863-1865 |
| José Francisco Chaves (1833-1904) |
Republican | New Mexico Territory | 1865-1867 1869-1871 |
| Trinidad Romero (1835-1918) |
Republican | New Mexico Territory | 1877-1879 |
| Mariano S. Otero (1844-1904) |
Republican | New Mexico Territory | 1879-1881 |
| Tranquilino Luna (1849-1892) |
Republican | New Mexico Territory | 1881-1884 |
| Francisco Antonio Manzanares (1843-1904) |
Democrat | New Mexico Territory | 1884-1885 |
| Pedro Perea (1852-1906) |
Republican | New Mexico Territory | 1899-1901 |
| Federico Degetau (1862-1914) |
Insular Republican | Puerto Rico | 1901-1905 |
| Tulio Larrinaga (1847-1917) |
Unionist | Puerto Rico | 1905-1911 |
| Manuel L. Quezon (1878-1944) |
Non-Partisan | Philippines | 1909-1916 |
| Luis Muñoz Rivera (1859-1916) |
Unionist | Puerto Rico | 1911-1916 |
| Félix Córdova Dávila (1878-1938) |
Unionist | Puerto Rico | 1917-1932 |
| José Lorenzo Pesquera (1882-1950) |
Non-Partisan | Puerto Rico | 1932-1933 |
| Santiago Iglesias (1872-1939) |
Coalitionist | Puerto Rico | 1933-1939 |
| Bolívar Pagán (1897-1961) |
Coalitionist | Puerto Rico | 1939-1945 |
| Jesús T. Piñero (1897-1952) |
Popular Democratic | Puerto Rico | 1945-1946 |
| Antonio Fernós-Isern (1895-1974) |
Popular Democratic | Puerto Rico | 1946-1965 |
| Santiago Polanco Abreu (1920-1988) |
Popular Democratic | Puerto Rico | 1965-1969 |
| Jorge Luis Córdova (1907-1994) |
New Progressive | Puerto Rico | 1969-1973 |
| Jaime Benítez (1908-2001) |
Popular Democratic | Puerto Rico | 1973-1977 |
| Ron de Lugo (b. 1930) |
Democrat | U.S. Virgin Islands | 1973-1979 1981-1995 |
| Baltasar Corrada del Río (b. 1935) |
New Progressive | Puerto Rico | 1977-1985 |
| Jaime Fuster (1941-2007) |
Popular Democratic | Puerto Rico | 1985-1992 |
| Antonio Colorado (b. 1939) |
Popular Democratic | Puerto Rico | 1992-1993 |
| Carlos Romero Barceló (b. 1932) |
New Progressive | Puerto Rico | 1993-2001 |
| Aníbal Acevedo Vilá (b. 1962) |
Popular Democratic | Puerto Rico | 2001-2005 |
| Luis Fortuño (b. 1960) |
New Progressive | Puerto Rico | 2005-2009 |
| Pedro Pierluisi (b. 1959) |
New Progressive | Puerto Rico | 2009–present |
See also
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References
- ↑ for the predecessors and successors of each Hispanic and Latino American Representative's/Delegate's district or Senator with their date of birth and death, click on the U.S. representative/delegate or senator, for the number of congresses, click on the congress.
