Hispanic and Latino Democrats will hold a record number of seats in Congress next year, after the midterm elections.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus projects it will have 55 members next session, the most since the organization formed 50 years ago.
"Our representation is growing, our voices are stronger, and no one can afford to take Latino voters for granted," caucus leaders said in a statement.
The caucus is poised to make gains in Arizona, Nevada and Colorado, where Democrat Manny Rutinel flipped the state's competitive 8th Congressional District. He defeated Republican Rep. Gabe Evans, who is also Hispanic.
On Wednesday, Rutinel said the large Latino community in the Denver suburbs and surrounding rural areas was crucial to his victory.
"We showed up where they were. I have the ability to speak directly to them in their native tongue in Spanish, and we did that, you know, on news stations. We did that at churches. We did that at quinceañeras," he said. "We made sure that they knew that they had an important voice and that they needed to be able to vote to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with Donald Trump's cost-hiking agenda."
Associated Press polling shows Republicans appeared to lose ground with Hispanic voters this election. A Reuters analysis also revealed Latino-majority counties shifting left in Colorado and New Mexico. Polls leading up to and after the election found the cost of living was a top issue for these voters.
The CHC Bold PAC, the campaign arm of the caucus, said it's gaining 12 new members after the midterms, eight of whom flipped Republican-held seats.
In addition to Rutinel, Teresa Benitzen-Thompson won her contest in northern Nevada's 2nd Congressional District, becoming the first Democrat to claim this seat. JoAnna Mendoza is leading incumbent Juan Ciscomani to win Arizona's 6th Congressional District, but the AP has not yet called the race as of Thursday afternoon.
Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.), Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) and Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), also members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, won reelection Tuesday night.
Elsewhere, Xavier Becerra was elected the first Latino governor of California and Gina Hinojosa will be the first Latina governor of Texas.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Boise State Public Radio, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio and KJZZ in Arizona as well as NPR, with support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
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