Women of Color in Elective Office 2020

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
 

1 Republican

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-MA)
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. Nanette 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. 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
16

Of the 90 women serving in statewide elective executive offices, 16, or 17.8%, are women of color. Women of color constitute 4.5% of the total 311 statewide elective executives.

13 D
3 R
5
Black (5D)
6
Latina (4D, 2R) 
3
Asian Pacific Islander(3D)
 

Tish James (D-NY), Attorney General
Sandra Kennedy (D-AZ), Corp. Comm.
Sheila Oliver (D-NJ), Lt. Governor
Carolyn Stanford Taylor (D-WI), Sup. Pub. Instr.
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
Lea Marquez Peterson (R-AZ), Corp. Comm.
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 (1D)
1
Multiracial (1D)
    
  Peggy Flanagan (D-MN), Lt. Governor   Kathleen McGuiness (D-DE), Auditor    
State Legislators
542

Women of color are 25.3% of the 2,146 women state legislators serving nationwide. They constitute 7.3% of the total 7,383 state legislators. In addition, there are 31 women of color serving in the legislatures of the U.S. Territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands) and on the D.C. City Council.

522 D
 
 

19 Republicans 1 Progressive

  Senate   House   Total*
  D   R   Prg Total   D   R   Prg Total   D   R   Prg Total
Black 71 1 - 72   236 2 - 238   307 3 - 310
Asian Pacific Islander 11 1 - 12   33 2 - 35   44 3 - 47
Latina 33 3 - 36   86 4 - 90   119 7 - 126
Middle Eastern/North African 2 - - 2   4 - - 4   6 - - 6
Native American 4 1 - 5   16 2 - 18   20 3   23
Multi-Racial 4   - 4   21 3 1 25   25 3 1 29
Totals 125 6 - 131   397 13 1 411   522 19 1 542
*Adding up all categories does not equal the total number of women of color because there is a legislator who is a woman of color but did not wish to be included in the above categories. This figure does not include two legislators whose race/ethnicity we could not confirm.

In 2020, fourteen women of color serve in state legislative leadership:

Black Latina
Janet Buckner (D-CO), House Speaker Pro Tem Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D-NV), House Majority Leader
Karen Camper (D-TN), House Minority Leader Charlene Fernandez (D-AZ), House Minority Leader
Audrey Gibson (D-FL), Senate Minority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz (D-NJ), Senate President Pro Tem
Adrienne Jones (D-MD), House Speaker  
Kimberly Lightford (D-IL), Senate Majority Leader Asian Pacific Islander
Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes (D-NY), House Majority Leader Della Au Bellatti (D-HI), House Majority Leader
Sheryl W. Stapleton (D-NM), House Majority Leader  
Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-NY), Senate President Pro Tem/Majority Leader Multi-Racial
Emilia Sykes (D-OH), House Minority Leader Michelle Kidani (D-HI), Senate President Pro Tem

Women of color serve in every state except for Nebraska.

  • Black women serve in 44 states, all except HI, MT, NE, SD, ND, VT.
  • Asian Pacific Islander women serve in 18 states; CA, GA, HI, ID, IL, KY, MA, MD, MI, MN, NH, NY, OH, PA, TX, UT, VA, WA.
  • Latina women serve in 27 states; AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL GA, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, MI, MN, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OR, RI, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV.
  • Middle Eastern/North African women serve in 5 states; FL, GA, MD, NH, NY.
  • Native American women serve in 14 states; AK, AZ, KS, MN, MS, MT, ND, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, WA, WY.
  • Multi-Racial women serve in 16 states; AR, AZ, HI, IL, MD, MI, MN, NV, NY, OH, OK, RI, VA, VT, WA, WV.
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
Sharon Weston Broome (D), Baton Rouge, LA, 2017-present  
Vi Alexander Lyles (D), Charlotte, NC, 2017-present Asian Pacific Islander
Keisha Lance Bottoms (D*), Atlanta, GA, 2018-present Lily Mei (D*), Fremont, CA, 2016-present
LaToya Cantrell (D), New Orleans, LA, 2018-present Karen K. Goh (R*), Bakersfield, CA, 2017-present
London Breed (D*), San Francisco, CA, 2018-present  
Lori Lightfoot (D*), Chicago, IL, 2019-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.