The new 113th Congress will have a record number of Hispanics serving in Washington. Three Hispanic senators along with 33 Hispanic representatives will be a part of the legislators on Capitol Hill. Eleven of the Hispanic legislators, including one senator are participating for the first time in Congress.
The vast majority, 28 in all, are Democrats, with 10 Republicans, while a handful of Hispanic legislators makeup part of the most conservative members of Congress. While the majority of Hispanics support Democrats, two of the three Hispanic senators – Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio happen to be Republicans and all of them gained broad support outside the Hispanic community.
Cruz has even garnered the Tea Party’s support a sub-group of the GOP that many Republicans believe is too removed from the U.S. mainstream. He will join the 113th senate along with the returning Rubio and Bob Menendez a Democrat. Raul Labrador from Idaho is a conservative representative who is Mormon.
Democrats will hold a 55-45 majority in the Senate, while the Republicans maintain a 235-199 majority in the House, although that advantage has shrunk from the previous Congress.
David Rivera, a Republican Representative from Florida who was plagued by scandal is out and has been replaced by Joe Garcia a Democrat, while Pete Gallego a Democrat from Texas will fill the seat of Francisco Canseco a Republican.
Two stalwarts on Capitol Hill, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen a Republican from Florida and Luis Gutierrez a Democrat from Illinois, remain but many new freshmen will join Congress. Joaquin Castro, the twin brother of Julian Castro the Mayor of San Antonio, Texas will be in the House as a Texas Representative, while another four Hispanics, one Republican and three Democrats, will represent California for the first time.
