Mayra Flores won big in Texas. Can other Latinas do the same?

• Latinas represent 9.1% of the total U.S. population but only make up only 2.8% of all lawmakers in Congress.
• Twenty-seven Latinos have won primary battles for the U.S. House of Represenatives so far this election cycle. That’s up from 2018, when 20 Latinas won their primary contests.
• “We have seen places like Texas, Arizona and Florida, more Latinas are running and winning,” said Anna Sampaio, a politics, race and gender professor at California’s Santa Clara University.

Republican U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores of Texas became the first Mexican-born woman to be sworn into Congress last week, the latest major victory for Latinas, who are increasingly running for political office – and winning.

Latinas represent 9.1% of the total U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census. But Latinas make up only 2.8% of all lawmakers in Congress, according to the Center For American Women and Politics. They are also underrepresented in local and state political offices.