Progressive group endorses four Latinas in competitive House districts

With the midterm elections over a year away, a progressive Latino group is announcing its support for four Democratic candidates who could be the first Latinas to represent their congressional districts.

Latino Victory Fund, an organization focused on increasing Latino political representation, is endorsing Marlene Galán-Woods and JoAnna Mendoza in Arizona’s 1st and 6th districts, respectively; Denise Powell in Nebraska’s 2nd District; and Carol Obando-Derstine in Pennsylvania’s 7th District. They will face Democratic primary challengers in districts many expect to be among the most competitive on the midterm map next year.

The early endorsements unlock a number of benefits for the candidates, including social media rollouts, direct contributions to their campaigns from the group’s political action committee and access to a national network of funders, CEO and President Katharine Pichardo told NBC News before the endorsements were announced.

“These are all outstanding candidates,” Pichardo said. “They are top-notch advocates and professionals who have their fingers on the pulse of their communities.”

While Latinos have traditionally leaned Democratic, recent elections have shown a shift toward the Republican Party. In 2024, Donald Trump captured an ethnically and racially diverse coalition of voters and made substantial gains among Latino voters, winning 48% of the Hispanic vote, while Democrat Kamala Harris won 51%, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center. By contrast, Joe Biden won 61% of the Hispanic vote in 2020, compared with 36% for Trump.

Latinos make up almost 20% of the U.S. population but only 2% of the country’s elected officials. Pichardo argued that supporting Latino candidates is necessary “because representation matters — you need people in office who are going to be consistent with our values as a community and that have the lived experiences that allow them to be good representatives for our community.”

The Latina candidates come from diverse backgrounds. Galán-Woods, a Republican-turned-Democrat, is making a second run for Congress in an Arizona district that includes parts of north Phoenix, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. The seat is held by Republican David Schweikert, who won his 2024 race by 2 percentage points. Galán-Woods, a Cuban American, will face Amish Shah in the Democratic primary; Shah defeated her last year and became the Democratic candidate.

Mendoza, a Mexican American veteran and the daughter of farmworkers, is seeking to unseat Mexican-born Rep. Juan Ciscomani, a Republican, in Arizona’s 6th District. The district stretches throughout parts of Pima County and much of Tucson and Cochise counties. Ciscomani won a second term last year by a comfortable margin. Other potential Democratic candidates have filed paperwork indicating their interest in the race.

Powell, of Cuban and Chilean descent, co-founded Women Who Run Nebraska, an organization that motivates women to run for office, and she is running in Nebraska’s 2nd District. Republican Rep. Don Bacon, who has a reputation as a centrist, recently announced he would not seek a sixth term. Previous election cycles have featured tight races between Bacon and his Democratic opponents. Several other Democrats have announced their candidacies, including John Cavanaugh, a state senator whose father, John J. Cavanaugh III, represented the district, which includes Omaha, from 1977 to 1981.

Obando-Derstine would be running to represent Pennsylvania’s 7th District, a seat held by Republican Ryan Mackenzie. Obando-Derstine, born in Colombia, previously served on Gov. Tom Wolf’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs and worked for Sen. Bob Casey.

The district is considered one of the most competitive in the country and one of the most expensive. Two other Democrats are running, including Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure, who has been in Democratic politics for 15 years.

The GOP holds a narrow majority in the House, with 219 Republicans and 212 Democrats. Historically, the president’s party tends to lose ground in midterm elections as voters punish the party in office. Trump’s approval numbers are around 43%, a historically low number compared with other presidents, though it is slightly higher than in his first term, according to an NBC News analysis. But the Democratic Party’s image is at its lowest point in three decades, according to a recent Wall Street Journal poll.

In the past, Latino Victory Fund has made high-six-figure investments in support of Latina candidates, Pichardo said.

“These are trailblazing Latinas that will be making history — but at the end of the day, how we bring back Latinos is really through a plan,” she said, “including a focus on building a new coalition that speaks to voters on the issues that matter most to them.”