Issue Brief: Hispanic/Latino Americans and Officeholding

This issue brief introduces some of the overall trends related to Latinos and office holding. It also lists some of the notable Latinos that have been recently been elected to public office, at the mayoral level, governorship or Congressional office. This issue brief does not focus on U.S. Census data demographics of the Latino population nor focuses on analysis of the Latino electorate. Notable Latino Americans such as Henry Cisneros, Alberto Gonzalez, and most recently Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor have either been appointed by the President to cabinet positions or nominated for other government positions yet not elected, with the notable exception of Cisneros, who was mayor of the City of San Antonio, Texas.