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Meet eight Latinos who can make history in Congress on November 3

2020-10-26T18:26:46.589Z


They could be the first Latino representative for Idaho, the first Latino of Arab descent, or the first Afro-Latino on Capitol Hill: this is what they face and these are their proposals.


By Nicole Acevedo and Suzanne Gamboa - NBC News

From becoming the first Afro-Latino or the first openly LGBTQ congresswoman to being the first veteran of Latino and Native American descent on Capitol Hill, these eight Democratic candidates compete to reach the House of Representatives and make history in November.

They include Rudy Soto, for Idaho;

Michelle de la Isla, for Kansas, and Ammar Campa-Najjar, for California, who are fighting in Republican-majority districts.

There are also Christina Hale and Candace Valenzuela who are looking to be chosen in very close races in Indiana and Texas, respectively.

Also on the list are candidates like Ritchie Torres, now a New York City Councilor;

San Diego Presiding Councilor Georgette Gómez;

and New Mexico attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez, who campaign in Democratic-majority districts.

These are their stories and proposals, in alphabetical order:

Ammar Campa-Najjar

Ammar Campa-Najjar in 2018. He is the son of a Mexican-American and a Palestinian man.

Campa-Najjar faces former Republican legislator Darrell Issa in the fight to represent the 50th district of California, considered to be very conservative.

Issa retired from Congress in 2018 after representing the 49th district for 18 years.

If Campa-Najjar is elected on November 3, he will be

the first American of Latino and Arab descent in Congress.

Campa-Najjar is the son of a Mexican-American and a Palestinian;

Two years ago he sought the same seat, but lost to Republican Duncar Hunter, who was under criminal investigation for corruption at the time.

Hunter ended up resigning and was sentenced to 11 months in prison for inappropriate use of funds raised for a campaign.

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Campa-Najjar said that since that contest in 2018 he has not stopped working to gain the trust of a district that since 1981 had been represented by Hunter or his father;

Since January of this year, when Hunter Jr. resigned, there has been no representative for this area of ​​California.

"We have been trying to stop the worst pandemic in 100 years without having a congressman," Campa-Najjar told NBC News.

"The 50th [district]

has not had a voice during the entire pandemic,"

added the candidate, who began his political career as a volunteer in Barack Obama's presidential campaign and later worked for that Administration.

Democrats in California have Campa-Najjar as part of their

Red to Blue

list

, an initiative to flip key seats.

Among his main goals as a candidate and being elected, Campa-Najjar wants to help small and medium businesses as well as improve public safety issues, according to his campaign website.

Michelle de la Isla

De La Isla, of Puerto Rican descent, has been

the first Latina mayor of Topeka,

Kansas

since 2018

, and this year she hopes to make history again by running as a representative for the 2nd legislative district of that state, which Republicans won by just 1% of the vote two years ago.

In her campaign, the former executive director of Habitat for Humanity in Topeka has emphasized promoting changes to the health system based on her own experience in order to pay the medical debts of her cancer treatment.

Michelle de la Isla, who is Mayor of Topeka, in a photo of her campaign for Congress Courtesy of Michelle for Kansas

If she wins in November, she would become the

first Latina woman elected to represent Kansas in Congress.

He faces the head of the state Treasury, Republican Jacob LaTurner, who defeated in the Republican primary who was representative until now, Steve Watkins.

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Georgette gomez

Georgette Gómez seeks to be elected representative for California's 53rd District Courtesy of Georgette Gómez Campaign / Photo by David Poller

Georgette Gómez is the first LGBTQ Latina (from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and 

queer community

) to be voted the presiding councilor of San Diego, and she seeks to make history again now in her contest against the also progressive Sara Jacobs to represent the 53 California's District in the House of Representatives.

If she wins the election, she will be the

first first-generation Mexican-American Democrat in Congress

, as well as the first LGBTQ Latina.

"We must acknowledge the representation that is still missing" on Capitol Hill, Gomez told NBC News.

"That is why

many key issues for our community are not discussed,

" added the candidate, whose relatives at some point had both legal and illegal immigration status.

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"In California the homeless population continues to grow and the cost of rents continues to rise. We are a state with wealth, but this is not reaching the bottom," he said, "we need to think differently and more boldly to create a better way for middle class families to flourish, because so far they have been pushed down. "

Gómez indicated that he grew up in a family that had to deal with the consequences of industrial pollution, so addressing the climate emergency is one of its focuses, as well as improving the situation of immigrants as well as promoting that all people have access to Medicare, the federal health care subsidy program.

Christina Hale

Christina Hale during a rally in Indiana in March 2015.AP

Hale is running to represent Indiana's 5th legislative district, and if elected she will be the first Latina to advocate for that state in Congress.

She was already voted into the state House of Representatives in 2012.

Hale, who is of Cuban descent,

faces Republican Victoria Spartz and two candidates from other parties in a close race to replace Susan Brooks, who served four terms as a congresswoman.

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The increasing cost of medical care, having programs that better prepare children and adolescents to enter the job market in their future and improving the quality of drinking water are some of the topics that Hale has as priorities if it reaches Congress. according to their website.

"If elected to Congress, I will shake hands with those on the other side to lower healthcare costs, to protect those with pre-existing illnesses, and to ensure there are resources and support to keep our community and local economy strong." , promises.

Teresa Leger Fernandez

The attorney wants to represent the 3rd District of New Mexico to replace Ben Ray Luján, who now runs for the Senate.

She faces Republican Alexis Johnson in her quest to be the first Latina to represent the district, which has historically backed Democrats but has never voted for a woman in office, according to political committee Emily's List, which backs female candidates, especially those who defend the right to abortion like Leger Fernandez does.

Teresa Leger Fernandez in March 2020 during an event for the Democratic primary.

If Leger Fernandez is elected, she will be part of a

group of New Mexico Democratic legislators who belong to ethnic or racial minorities

, along with Xochitl Torres Small and Native American Debra Haaland, who are seeking reelection.

As someone who suffered from breast cancer "who could be denied health insurance due to pre-existing conditions", Leger Fernandez promises to work so that "all people have accessible and affordable medical care," he indicates in his campaign texts, in which says it will protect the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also nicknamed Obamacare) against attempts to remove the measure.

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Leger Fernandez also says that

his priorities are immigration reform

, improving economic opportunities and working for greater environmental sustainability in the face of climate change.

Rudy soto

Soto told NBC News that it has been difficult to campaign without going to fairs, festivals, rodeos or quinceañeras because of the pandemic, but that does not stop him from seeking to defend Idaho's 1st District.

If voted into Congress, the

member of the Shoshon and Bannock tribes and the son of a Mexican immigrant

would be the first Latino and Native American veteran to represent the state.

Rudy Soto, a veteran of the National Guard, is of Mexican descent and part of the Shoshon tribes.Courtesy of Rudy for Congress

In the fight for the district, which has historically been Republican, Soto faces Russ Fulcher of the Republican Party and two candidates from other parties.

Soto said he hopes voters will look beyond partisan divisions and focus on the proposals around health care, one of the highest priority issues for the Idaho community.

The candidate indicated that he himself has personal experiences with the

issues he defends the most

, such as immigration reform, changes to the criminal justice system and improvements in matters that concern veterans.

He launched his candidacy on November 18 last year on the anniversary of his father's death "prematurely and due to a lack of access to the healthcare system," he told NBC News.

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He also explained that his father lost his health insurance after being laid off from his factory job, so he had no coverage when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2014.

That experience prompted Soto to work to enroll people in health insurance plans when he was an NGO health analyst and to advocate for the expansion of Medicaid, the federal low-income health program, when it was debated at 2018 as part of Obamacare. 

The measure to increase Medicaid coverage in the state was approved.

"That made me feel good about the people of my state; it made me think that if the candidate and the causes with the correct ones, it is possible to win," Soto said.

"And my life has been marked by knowing those struggles, the sacrifices, and giving a service," he added in reference to his history as a veteran.

Ritchie Torres

Ritchie Torres in 2018, when he was running for councilman in New York.

Seven years ago, Ritchie Torres became New York City's youngest councilman and the Bronx's first openly gay elected public servant.

Torres, who is an Afro-Latino of Puerto Rican descent, may now become the first LGBTQ Latino voted into Congress.

He won the primary for New York's 15th district in the summer and is expected to win this November against Republican Patrick Delices, as the district has historically elected Democrats.

Whoever wins will replace Jose Serrano, a South Bronx Democrat who served 16 terms in the lower house but announced his retirement last year after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

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Torres told MSNBC that seeing how the health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affect minorities in the Bronx wants to push "for there to be a comprehensive safety net that underpins both housing and health is a human right ". 

On his campaign website, Torres indicates that "as someone who has benefited from public housing, public schools, and public hospitals, my dream is to fight for my community so that we can build a better Bronx."

That, he says in campaign documents, means a special focus on education, access to jobs, health care and home improvements.

Candace Valenzuela

Valenzuela may become the first Afro-Latina to be voted into Congress and the third Latina to represent Texas on Capitol Hill, after Verónica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia.

Disputes representation of the 24th district of Texas with Republican Beth Van Duyne, former mayor of Irving;

Democrats believe this seat is one of the most likely to change from red to blue in November.

Valenzuela is the daughter of a Mexican-American and a black man;

she was the

first in her family to graduate from college

.

She has worked as a teacher to students with special educational needs and is the first Latina and the first black woman to be voted on to the Carrolton-Farmers Branch district board of education.

Candace Valenzuela wants to become the first Afro-Latino legislator in Congress, but first she has to defeat a Democratic rival in the 24th district of Texas and then a Republican rival next November Photo courtesy of Candace Valenzuela / Noticias Telemundo campaign

In an interview with Noticias Telemundo, Valenzuela said he hopes to continue the fight for social justice issues by Representative John Lewis, the last of the 1960s civil rights group to die, in July.

He "made sure his struggles benefit the whole community, our democracy, and we will greatly need his voice, but I look forward to honoring his legacy by promoting a Voting Rights Act for the 21st century. I look forward to continuing those conversations about the elections. race relations and representation in Texas, and that my candidacy and mandate reflect their fight, "he told Telemundo.

Valenzuela is part of the Red to Blue program, which helps raise funds for Democratic candidates with diverse origins, and has focused during his campaign on promoting immigration reform, changes to the penal system and on issues to reduce the effects of the COVID pandemic -19. 

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2020-10-26

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