On November 8, the mid-term legislative elections, or the “Midterms”, took place in the United States. The results of the elections were surprising, because, contrary to the bets and electoral polls, and even the political tradition of the United States, the governing party did not suffer a crushing defeat as imagined. On the contrary, the Democratic Party managed to secure a majority in the Senate. The defeat in the House of Representatives was by a small margin, and not a “red” tsunami as imagined. For example, in 2010, in the government of Barack Obama, the Republicans won a turnaround of 60 deputies in the House. In 2018, under Donald Trump, the Democrats gained 40 seats. It is worth informing that “red” is the color of the Republican Party, while “blue” characterizes the Democrats.

According to Latino Rebels, the more favorable situation for the Biden administration was due to a “historic” increase in Latino voter turnout in 2022. Except in Florida, where the Latino community voted Republican, Latino voters followed historic trends, namely, two-thirds voting Democrat while one-third voted Republican. Also according to the publication, an estimated 34.5 million Latinos were eligible to vote in the 2022 elections, making Latinos the fastest growing racial and ethnic group in the US since the last election. Latinos made up about 14% of all eligible voters in the 2022 election.

We have previously discussed in our Latino Observatory the importance of the Latino vote in close races in the Senate and House of Representatives. Especially in the November 2nd analysis, we focused on some races that could decide the control of both Houses and where the Latino vote would be essential. In this analysis, we will comment on the result in those districts that we had focused on, below:

Nevada Senate: Catherine Cortez Masto was re-elected with a 0.7% lead.

Senator Masto was re-elected in the State of Nevada with 48.8% of the votes, surpassing her competitor Adam Laxalt by less than 1%, achieving an important victory in the Democratic seat that was most threatened. It is worth remembering that in 2020, the Democrats obtained half the seats, however, two senators (Kirsten Sinema and Joe Manchin) at times blocked the Biden government's initiatives. In these elections, of the 35 seats contested in the Senate, only 14 were won by the Democrats and 20 by the Republicans. Only one state has yet to be named. The seat of the State of Georgia will be defined in the second round, since there is no candidate with more than 50%. The new election will be held on December 6.

Because of this, there was much anticipation about the outcome of the election in Nevada, as Senator Catherine Cortez Masto faced a tough race as powerful conservative lobby groups invested in Adam Laxalt's Senate campaign. Furthermore, part of the population was dissatisfied with the high levels of inflation, something that especially affected the state of Nevada. There, the popularity of Joe Biden and the Democrats was at an all-time low. Despite this, a strong participation of Latinos managed to secure the seat of the first Latina elected senator in the United States. On November 2, NPR drew attention to the importance of the mobilization of Latino voters, particularly by more progressive groups.

Catherine Cortez Masto's victory ensures control of the Senate and a certain stability for President Biden. The possibility of an impeachment process approved by the Republican majority in the House would be rejected in the Upper House of Congress. If they manage to win in the state of Georgia, the Democrats guarantee control of the Senate without needing the “Minerva vote” of Vice President Kamala Harris.

House of Representatives - Texas 15th: Monica De La Cruz is elected with 53.3% of the vote

Monica De La Cruz was elected from Texas's 15th district with 53.3% of the vote. The state is the biggest Republican stronghold, with 25 Republican seats elected out of a total of 38 seats. The 15th district was the only one in which, regardless of the winning candidate, there would be a Latino woman as a representative in the House. Michelle Vallejo was the Democratic candidate who reached 44.8% of the vote. The dispute was characterized by a strong political polarization as De La Cruz presented a very conservative agenda, contrary to the right to abortion, in favor of carrying weapons, in defense of the traditional family and against the easing of the immigration policy. On the other hand, Vallejo's campaign was based on feminism, abortion rights, public health, in defense of the legalization of undocumented immigrants, against police violence and in defense of raising the minimum wage.

De La Cruz's success represents the first Republican victory in the district, even if it is not a surprise. Texas 15th was one of the districts that underwent Redistricting, that is, it changed the area covered by the district after the State gained 2 more seats in the House after the 2020 census. The new configuration, however, favors Republicans in the House of Representatives, since they pass the most democratic cities to the neighboring districts, 28th and 34th, and give the Republican advantage to the 15th. The issue of Redistricting has already been discussed at the LatinoObservatory.

House of Representatives - Texas 34th: Vincente Gonzalez wins with 52.7% of the vote

The seat of the 34th district was won by Vincente Gonzalez, the Democratic candidate, who now holds the 15th district. Gonzalez won with 52.7% of the votes against the holder of the seat, Mayra Flores. She had been elected in a special election in June, which was called to end the term of former US Representative Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, who resigned in March to work for lobbying firm Akin Gump. Despite having the backing of former President Donald Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Flores was defeated in a traditionally Democratic, Latino-majority Texas border region. The new Representative Gonzalez will be the representative of the district that covers cities like Brownsville and Corpus Christi. It is worth mentioning that Gonzalez belongs to a more conservative wing of the party, which is against the right to abortion.

House of Representatives - New Mexico 2nd: Gabriel Vasquez wins by 'flip' (turn) with 50.3% of the votes

Gabriel Vasquez of the Democratic Party won election to the House of Representatives in New Mexico's 2nd District, defeating incumbent seat holder Yvette Herrell. The district borders Mexico and has a majority of Latino descent. Gabriel or Gabe, as he is called in his campaign, defends a progressive platform. He comes from a family of immigrants and seeks solutions to climate problems, conservation of land and natural resources in the region and, especially, seeks a reform in the country's immigration system. Part of this victory also comes from the fact that the Democrat managed to portray the opponent Herrell as anti-democratic for having contested the election of Joe Biden 2020.

Vasquez, since March 2022, is part of the “Red to Blue” group, a small selection of candidates from the Democratic party in traditionally “red” districts that the DCCC (Acronym in English for the “Campaign Committee of the Democratic Congress”) selected to drive this year's midterms.

House of Representatives – Colorado 8th: Yadira Caraveo wins with 48.8% of the vote

Yadira Caraveo, Democrat and daughter of Mexican immigrants won in the 8th district of Colorado that includes Denver, the state capital, over opponent Barbara Kirkmeyer with a difference of less than 1% of the votes. Yadira, who is a doctor, has progressive agendas linked to public health, in addition to transportation, living costs and homeless people. Yadira Caraveo, called an underdog (dark horse) by several media outlets in the region, was the first Latina to win a congressional seat in the state even though nearly 40% of the population in her district is of Latino ethnic origin.

The defeated Kirkmeyer, Republican, is the current State Senator of Colorado and was elected in 2020 in the state legislative elections. With the race so close, Kirkmeyer's previous popularity, and the Republican regional tradition, the Democratic National Committee also added the district to the Red-to-Blue list, propelling the doctor to victory.

Other Latino Congresspeople

The disputes that we previously analyzed by the Latino Observatory had the results verified in this text, with the exception of the 22nd district of California which, until November 18th, had not been completely verified. We have not mentioned, however, all the regions that chose Latinos as their representatives in the Legislature, as we have emphasized only the closest races.

Therefore, it is interesting to highlight some Latino winners of the 2022 midterms such as Alex Padilla, son of Mexican immigrants and elected to the Senate representing California. A great exponent of the Democratic Party in the region, he was appointed to fill the vacancy of Kamala Harris, who left the seat to fulfill the role of Vice President of Joe Biden's government. Padilla was able to extend his term in this month's elections and continue his projects for the State. He is the first Latino senator elected from California.

It is also necessary to mention the Democrat Delia Ramirez who was elected to the House of Representatives with 2/3 of the votes for the 3rd district of Illinois. Daughter of Guatemalan immigrant workers, she was the first Latina elected to office in the state, a fact emphasized in her campaign slogan: “Help elect the first Latina Congresswoman from the Midwest”.

In the state of Oregon, on the West Coast, the performance of Latina women was also notable, with Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer, of Mexican descent, winning the 5th district congressional seat, as well as Democrat Andrea Salinas, who is also of Mexican descent, and who won the dispute for the 6th district.

In addition, it is interesting to highlight the Democrat Robert Garcia, a gay Peruvian man who will be the first immigrant and LGBTQIA+ to occupy a seat in the US Congress, being elected by the 42nd district of California, a notably progressive region. Garcia is mayor of the Californian city of Long Beach and, after losing his mother and stepfather to Covid-19, he expanded the city's health system and launched a municipal vaccination campaign praised and copied nationally.

Finally, we bring Democrat Maxwell Alejandro Frost, who won the seat of Florida's 10th district at the age of 25 years old, and will be the first "Generation Z" congressman. Frost is of Puerto Rican and Haitian descent and was adopted as a newborn by Cubans. His main focuses are social and racial equality, environmental issues, public health plans and, especially, the fight against police violence and armed attacks. On the latter subject, when publicly questioned about his claim to have been a political leader for 10 years, even though he is only 25 years old, he replied: “I started organizing myself (politically) when I was 15 because I didn’t want to be shot at school”, as he began his political career at a disarmament protest following the brutal Sandy Hook E.S. in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012.

In summary, looking at the 2022 midterm elections, it is important to note the advances that Latino candidates made in the election. However, the community is still far from being represented in political power according to the demographic weight of Latinos. Finally, despite the advances of some Republican candidates, Latinos in the United States continued to vote significantly for Democratic Party candidates. In tougher disputes, they were an important variable for Joe Biden's party to win.