Women of Color in Elective Office 2018

Congress, Statewide, State Legislature, Mayors

For information on the history of women of color in elective office click here.

Congress
38

Of the 108 women serving in the 115th U.S. Congress, 38, or 35.2%, are women of color; in addition, a Black woman, a Latina, an Asian Pacific Islander, and a Caribbean American woman serve as Delegates to the House from Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, respectively. Women of color constitute 7.1% of the total 535 members of Congress.  

35 D
3 R

U.S. Senate (4)

1
Latina - (1D)

Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV)

2
Asian Pacific Islander - (2D)

Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI)

1
Multiracial - (1D)

Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA)

U.S. House (34)

18
Black (17D, 1R)

Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC)
Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA)
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH)
Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
Rep. Val Demings (D-FL)
Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)
Rep. Robin L. Kelly (D-IL)
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Rep. Mia Love (R-UT)
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI)
Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL)
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)
Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL)

9
Latina (7D, 2R)

Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM)
Rep. Nannette Baragan (D-CA)
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA)
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA)
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)

7
Asian Pacific Islander (7D)

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI)
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA)
Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA)
Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY)
Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL)

U.S. House Delegates (4)

1
Black (1D)

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)

1
Latina (1R)

Del. Jenniffer Gonzalez(R-PR)

1
Asian Pacific Islander (1R)

Del. Amata Radewagen (R-AS)

1
Caribbean American (1D)

Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI)

Statewide Elective Executives
9

Of the 74 women serving in statewide elective executive offices, 9, or 12.2%, are women of color. They include one of the first two women of color to serve as governors, Susana Martinez. Women of color constitute 2.9% of the total 312 statewide elective executives.

5 D
3 R
1 NP*

* Non-partisan

3
Black (2D, 1R)
4
Latina (2D, 2R)
1
Asian Pacific Islander(1D)
  Jenean Hampton (R-KY), Lt. Governor
Denise Nappier (D-CT), State Treasurer
Sheila Oliver (D-NJ), Lieutenant Governor
 		   Nellie Gorbea (D-RI), Secretary of State
Susana Martinez (R-NM), Governor
Susanna Mendoza (D-IL, Comptroller
Evelyn Sanguinetti (R-IL), Lt. Governor		   Betty Yee (D-CA), State Controller
       
1
Native American/Native Alaskan (1NP)
          Valerie Davidson (NP-AK), Lt. Governor
State Legislators
456

Women of color are 24.3% of the 1,875 women state legislators serving nationwide. They constitute 6.2% of the total 7,383 state legislators.  Crisanta Duran (D-CO) is currently the only woman of color serving as a Senate president or House speaker. She is also the first Latina to serve as a House Speaker, assuming that office in 2017.

429 D
26 R
 

1 Progressive

  Black Asian Pacific Islander Latina Native American Totals
    D  R Tot.  D  R Tot.  D  R Prg Tot.   D  R Tot.  D  R Prg Tot.
Totals 272 3 275 36 8   44 105 11 1 117 16 4   20 429 26 1 456
Senate 69 11 29 3 112
House/Assem. 206 33 88 17 344
States
42
 All except AK,
HI, MT, NE, SD
ND, VT, WY
17

AZ, CA,
GA, HI, ID,
IL, MA, MD, MI,
NH, NY,
OK, PA, TX, UT
VA, WA
27
 AZ, CA,
CO, CT,
FL, GA, IL,
IN, MA, MD,
MI, MN, NH,
NJ, NM, NV,
NY, OR, RI,
TN, TX, UT,
VA, VT, WA,
WI, WV
9
 AK, AZ, KS, MN, 
MT, NM, OK, OR,
WY		 Women of color serving in all states except:
ND, NE, SD
Mayors
10

In the nation's 100 largest cities, ten women of color currently serve as mayors:

Black Latina
Muriel Bowser (D), Washington, DC, 2015-present Mary Casillas Salas (D*), Chula Vista, CA, 2015-present
Catherine Pugh (D), Baltimore, MD, 2016-present  
Sharon Weston Broome (D), Baton Rouge, LA, 2017-present Asian Pacific Islander
Vi Alexander Lyles (D), Charlotte, NC, 2017-present Lily Mei (D*), Fremont, CA, 2016-present
Keisha Lance Bottoms (D*), Atlanta, GA, 2018-present Karen K. Goh (R*), Bakersfield, CA, 2017-present
LaToya Cantrell (D), New Orlenas, LA, 2018-present  
London Breed (D*), San Francisco, CA, 2018-present  

*Elected in nonpartisan races.

 

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