Latino leaders are gaining ground in U.S. politics despite ongoing challenges, with a surge in local office holders fueled by years of grassroots organizing and what some experts describe as an unrelenting attack on Latino communities by the Trump administration and conservative activists.
Record Numbers of Latino Elected Officials
According to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, there are currently an estimated 7,700 Latino elected officials nationwide, up from 6,883 in 2020. Latinos, estimated at up to 55 million people or 16% of the U.S. population, remain underrepresented in elective offices relative to their population share.
Anna Sampaio, an ethnic studies professor at Santa Clara University specializing in race and gender politics, noted that the current political climate provides an extra incentive for Latinos to seek office. "That's the difference now, is that there's this extra incentive of an unrelenting attack on Latinos across the country," she said.
Historic Wins in Local Elections
In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Jaime Arroyo was elected the city's first Latino mayor in January with 85% of the vote. "I think being the first Latino to be in this role and the first person of color to be mayor of Lancaster City has been exciting," Arroyo told The Associated Press. He emphasized that diverse representation is more important than ever amid heightened immigration enforcement and national policies hurting Latino communities.
Other historic wins include Rob Barron in Des Moines, Iowa, who became the first Latino city council member on January 12; Antonio Pacheco in Conyers, Georgia, sworn in as the first Latino council member on January 7; and in Lorain, Ohio, Eileen Torres and Sabrina Gonzalez became the first Mexican American and Puerto Rican women, respectively, to win city council seats.
In Lansing, Michigan, Clara Martinez and Deyanira Nevarez Martinez were sworn in on January 1, making Lansing the first U.S. city with a majority Latino city council. "I think because of the rhetoric that we are having to face and some of the backlash on the national stage, I think that's just fueled the fire for so many people," Martinez said.
The Salt Lake City Council also now has a Latino majority, with four of seven seats, after Erika Carlsen, granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, was sworn in on January 5. "I feel like I'm building on early generations of leadership," Carlsen said. "That's both an honor and responsibility to improve Salt Lake City for the people who live here."
State and Federal Gains
At the federal level, the 119th Congress includes 56 Hispanic or Latino members, accounting for 10.35% of total membership, up from just 14 members four decades ago. At the start of 2025, there were seven Hispanic U.S. senators, though that number dropped to six when Marco Rubio resigned to become Secretary of State, the first Latino to hold that position.
At the state level, Latinas held 214 seats in state legislatures in 2025, up from 192 in 2024, according to the Center for American Women and Politics. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham remains the only active Latina governor, while Gina Hinojosa won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Texas in March, becoming the second Latina to do so.
Grassroots Momentum
Carolina Welles, executive director of The First Ask, which supports first-time female candidates, noted that Latino representation is more visible at the local level because leaders build trust through proximity to their communities. "They actually know what people care about," Welles said. "They have a stake because they are facing similar things."
Sampaio predicted that the trend of increasing Latino candidates will continue as the administration's attacks on immigrant communities persist. "We're likely to see more Latinos run for office at the local level, at the state level and even at the national level in response to the attack on simply their existence," she said. "It is unwittingly both terrorizing the Latino community as well as mobilizing communities."
