How Diverse Is Congress?

Now in its 118th session, U.S. Congress continues to grow more diverse. According to a Statista analysis, there are now 143 senators, representatives and delegates who are not or not exclusively white, up from 139 around this time two years ago, when the 117th Congress took up work. Although progress is arguably slow and Congress is by no means as diverse as the U.S. itself, it is the seventh time in a row that Congressional diversity has increased.

The picture is more lopsided in the Senate, where 12 non-white members will be serving this session, an increase from 11 two years ago due to Republicans gaining junior Senator Markwayne Mullin, a Cherokee Nation member from Oklahoma. Yet, Trump-endorsed Mullin is only one of four Republican Senators of color, compared to eight among Democrats. All in all, 113 people of color will be holding Congressional office as Democrats, opposed to 30 serving as Republicans.

While the large majority of people of color serving in Congress are Democrats, progress in the 118th Congress was made on the Republican side. While the number of Democratic members of color stagnated compared to two years ago, Republicans saw gains, albeit on a much lower level. The House of Representatives is expected to have 26 non-white Republicans serving, up from 21 two years ago.

The Republicans gained mostly Latino members. The chamber uses the term Hispanic on its website, which describes those coming from or descended from Spanish-speaking countries, even though the sole representative with roots in Spain, not Latin America, is missing from its tally. Also, with the already notorious George Santos, the House has gained one Latino member whose family migrated from Portuguese-speaking Brazil instead of a Spanish-speaking country, warranting the use of the word Latino.

GOP Latino newcomers already making waves

Including Santos, the New York Congressman who made negative headlines for lying about large parts of his resume, there will be 16 Latino Republican Representatives, six of them first-term lawmakers. These include moderate former town councilman Anthony D’Esposito, who flipped New York’s 4th, and Republican-Libertarian cross-filer and former mayor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who together with Democrat Andrea Salinas will be the first person of Latino descent to represent Oregon in Congress. Chavez-DeRemer won a highly contested race that saw a primary upset of progressive Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner over a more moderate incumbent despite redistricting adding more conservative voters to the tallies.

They also include incoming freedom caucus member Anna Paulina Luna from Florida, who endorsed by Trump embraced conspiracy theories during her campaign and last week engaged in splitting the Republican vote for Speaker of the House together with other far-right Congresspeople. Another Trump-endorsed Republican newcomer is Monica De La Cruz from Texas, who flipped another redrawn district—which actually included fewer Latino voters than before.

Former GOP Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, who voted to impeach Trump after Jan. 6 and was not renominated for her seat, will be succeeded by another Latina: Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. A Latino Republican was also among only two out of ten Trump impeachers from the 2021 House GOP who were re-elected in 2022: David Valadao of California. Four out of ten retired.

While the first Mexican-born woman in Congress, QAnon dabbler Mayra Flores, was not reelected, newcomers Juan Ciscomani (R) from Arizona, Robert Garcia (D) from California and Shri Thanedar (D) from Michigan are also naturalized citizens. Democrat Maxwell Frost is not only the first Gen Z lawmaker to ever be elected to Congress. He is also one of five Congresspeople of mixed ancestry, having Black and Latino Puerto Rican and Haitian roots.

—

Charted by Statista