Women of Color in Elective Office 2021

Congress, Statewide, State Legislature, Mayors

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

Vice President

Kamala Harris (D) currently serves as Vice President. She is the first woman of color, the first Black person, and the first South Asian person elected to this office.

Congress
51

Of the 143 women serving in the 117th U.S. Congress, 51, or 35.7%, 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 9.5% of the total 535 members of Congress.  

46 D
5 R

U.S. Senate (3)

1
Latina - (1D)

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)

2
Asian Pacific Islander - (2D)

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

U.S. House (48)

24
Black (24D)

Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC)
Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA)
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH)
Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO
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. Nikema Williams (D-GA)
Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL)

12
Latina (10D, 2R)

Rep. Nanette Baragan (D-CA)
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX)
Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX)
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA)
Rep. Teresa Leger (D-MN)
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Rep. Maria E. Salazar (R-FL)
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA)
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)

7
Asian Pacific Islander (5D, 2R)

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA)
Rep. Young Kim (R-CA)
Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA)
Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY)
Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL)
Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA)

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)

2
Multiracial (1D, 1R)

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY)
Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-WA)

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
18

Of the 95 women serving in statewide elective executive offices, 18, or 18.9%, are women of color. Women of color constitute 5.8% of the total 310 statewide elective executives.

15 D
3 R
6
Black (6D)
7
Latina (5D, 2R) 
3
Asian Pacific Islander(2D, 1R)
 

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
Shirley Weber (D-CA), Secretary of State

  

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 (R-FL), Lt. Governor
Anna Tovar (D-AZ), Corp. Comm.

   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
552

Information as of 12/31/20. Updated information will be posted when available. 

Women of color are 25.5% of the 2,162 women state legislators serving nationwide. They constitute 7.5% 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.

531 D
 
 

20 Republicans 1 Progressive

  Senate   House   Total*
  D   R   Prg Total   D   R   Prg Total   D   R   Prg Total
Black 73 1 - 74   240 3 - 243   313 4 - 317
Asian Pacific Islander 12 1 - 13   33 2 - 35   45 3 - 48
Latina 33 3 - 36   87 4 - 91   120 7 - 127
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   22 3 1 26   26 3 1 30
Totals 128 6 - 134   403 14 1 418   531 20 1 552
*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, nineteen 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
Melony Griffith (D-MD), Senate President Pro Tem  
Charniele Herring (D-VA), House Majority Leader  
Adrienne Jones (D-MD), House Speaker  
Kimberly Lightford (D-IL), Senate Majority Leader Asian Pacific Islander
Louise Lucas (D-VA), Senate President Pro Tem Della Au Bellatti (D-HI), House Majority Leader
Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes (D-NY), House Majority Leader  
Sheree L. Sample-Hughes (D-MD), House Speaker Pro Tem  
Sheryl W. Stapleton (D-NM), House Majority Leader Multi-Racial
Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-NY), Senate President Pro Tem/Majority Leader Michelle Kidani (D-HI), Senate President Pro Tem
Emilia Sykes (D-OH), House Minority Leader Sara Gideon (D-ME), House Speaker

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 17 states; AR, AZ, HI, IL, MD, ME, 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
Vi Alexander Lyles (D), Charlotte, NC, 2017-present Regina Romero (D), Tucson, Arizona, 2019-present
Keisha Lance Bottoms (D*), Atlanta, GA, 2018-present  
LaToya Cantrell (D), New Orleans, LA, 2018-present Asian Pacific Islander
London Breed (D*), San Francisco, CA, 2018-present Lily Mei (D*), Fremont, CA, 2016-present
Lori Lightfoot (D*), Chicago, IL, 2019-present Karen K. Goh (R*), Bakersfield, CA, 2017-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.