The 114th Congress features five new Latinos

The 114th Congress that convenes Tuesday will feature five new Latinos, bringing the total number of Latinos serving in both chambers of Congress to a record of 32, up one from last year.

That number includes the current three Latino U.S. senators who were not up re-election last year. However, it does not include Democrats Joe Garcia of Florida and Pete Gallego of Texas, both of whom will not return to Congress after losing their re-election bids in November.

SEE ALSO: A record number of Latinos will serve in the U.S. House

Here’s a look at the new Latino members of Congress who will be sworn in on Tuesday:

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.)

Gallego is a Harvard graduate and Iraq War veteran. He served four years in the Arizona House of Representatives, where he became assistant minority leader. The former Marine will fill the seat vacated by retiring Democratic Rep. Ed Pastor in Arizona’s 7th congressional district. Gallego is the son of Latino parents—his mother is Colombian and his father is Mexican. Income inequality, education, immigration reform and the environment are among the issues he plans to advocate for in Congress.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.)

Aguilar made history in 2006 when he became the youngest person to serve on the Redlands City Council. Four years later, his fellow council members elected him to be mayor. Last November, Aguilar made history again by winning and returning California’s 31st congressional district seat to the Democrats. He will replace retiring GOP Rep. Gary Miller. Aguilar comes from a working class family. In Congress, he plans to fight for job creation and to ensure everyone has the same opportunities to join the middle class.

Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.)

Torres is a former 911 emergency dispatcher who began her political career as a member of the Pomona City Council. She went on to serve as mayor and as a California state assemblywoman. In November, she was elected to represent California’s 35th congressional district vacated by Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod. Torres was born in Guatemala and has been living in the U.S. since she was 5 years old. Among the issues she has pushed for include legal aid for unaccompanied minors crossing the border, the hiring of bilingual dispatchers and preventing families from losing their home to foreclosure.

Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.)

Curbelo served as a Miami-Dade County School Board member before announcing his bid for Congress. He defeated Rep. Joe Garcia in a highly competitive race for Florida’s 26th congressional district last November. Like Garcia, Curbelo is the son of Cuban exiles who fled Cuba during Fidel Castro’s rule. But they don’t see eye-to-eye when it comes to U.S.-Cuba policy. Curbelo doesn’t support President Obamas move to restore relations with Cuba and has vowed to hold the president and his administration accountable for “this reckless conduct.”

Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.V.)

Mooney, whose mother is from Cuba, is West Virginia’s first Latino U.S. representatives. He will represent West Virginia’s 2nd congressional district. Throughout the campaign trail, he was accused of moving to West Virginia from Maryland to run for Congress. In Maryland, he served as a state senator for 12 years and as chairman of Maryland’s Republican Party for three years. Mooney said that in Congress he wants to push for job creation as well as fight for “conservative values” and “defend” West Virginia from Obama’s “disastrous policies.”

SEE ALSO: Can the GOP part with America’s ugly past and present?

(function(d, s, id) {

var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];

if (d.getElementById(id)) return;

js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;

js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&appId=313098648827735&version=v2.0”;

fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);

}(document, “script”, “facebook-jssdk”));

The post The 114th Congress features five new Latinos appeared first on Voxxi.