Women of Color in Elective Office 2019

Congress, Statewide, State Legislature, Mayors

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

Congress
47

Of the 127 women serving in the 116th U.S. Congress, 47, or 37.0%, 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 8.8% of the total 535 members of Congress.  

46 D
 

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 (43)

22
Black (22D)

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. Jahana Hayes (D-CT)
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. Lucy McBath (D-GA)
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI)
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-IL)
Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL)
Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL)
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)
Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL)

12
Latina (11D, 1R)

Rep. Nannette Baragan (D-CA)
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX)
Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX)
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA)
Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL)
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA)
Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM)
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)

6
Asian Pacific Islander (6D)

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

1
Middle Eastern/North African (1D)

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)

2
Native American/Native Alaskan (2D)

Rep. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS)
Rep. Debra Haaland (D-NM)

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
14

Of the 86 women serving in statewide elective executive offices, 14, or 16.3%, are women of color. Women of color constitute 4.5% of the total 312 statewide elective executives.

11 D
2 R
1 NP*

* Non-partisan

4
Black (3D, 1R)
5
Latina (4D, 1R)
3
Asian Pacific Islander(3D)
  Jenean Hampton (R-KY), Lt. Governor
Tish James (D-NY), Attorney General
Sheila Oliver (D-NJ), Lt. Governor
Julianna Stratton (D-IL), Lt. Governor
 		   Stephanie Garcia Richard (D-NM), Land Commissoner
Nellie Gorbea (D-RI), Secretary of State
Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM), Governor
Susanna Mendoza (D-IL, Comptroller
Jeanette Nunez (D-FL), Lt. Governor		   Fiona Ma (D-CA), Treasurer
Betty Yee (D-CA), State Controller
Kimberly Yee (R-AZ), Treasurer
1
Native American/Native Alaskan (1NP)
1
Multiracial (1D)
    
  Peggy Flanagan (D-MN), Lt. Governor   Kathleen McGuiness (D-DE), Auditor    
State Legislators
456

 
Information as of 12/31/18; 2018 numbers will be posted when available. 
 
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.

 

Permission to Reproduce CAWP Materials

Reproduction of information on the CAWP website for non-commercial purposes is encouraged, provided that clear and visible credit is given to Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University. Any information reproduced must include footnotes/endnotes that apply to that information. Commercial reproduction requires prior permission in writing from the Center for American Women and Politics. All CAWP fact sheets are available on this web site and may be downloaded and copied as needed.