7 Hispanic Republicans Who Got There First
Millions of Americans across the country are currently observing Hispanic Heritage Month, in honor of the contributions of Hispanic-Americans to the United States and to celebrate Hispanic and Latino culture.
Just like the role they have played in the growth of our country, Hispanics have played an integral part in the long story of the Republican Party and in our nation’s political system.
Here are 7 men and women who became the first Hispanics to hold their offices – and who are also Republicans.
1. Romualdo Pacheco (1st Hispanic Congressman)
Pacheco, born in 1831, served for more than thirty years in politics in California and in Washington. In 1877, he was elected as the first Hispanic to Congress – and he was a Republican. His painting hangs in the Capitol honoring his accomplishment as the first U.S. Representative of Hispanic descent. Pacheco also served as the governor of California. To this day, he is the only Hispanic to have lead the Golden State.
2. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (1st Hispanic Female Member of Congress)
Ros-Lehtinen was elected in Florida to Congress in 1989, becoming the first Hispanic woman to serve in the House of Representatives. She is also the first Cuban-American elected to Congress. She still serves today and is the most senior ranking Republican woman in the U.S. House of Representatives. In addition, she is the only woman to have chaired the powerful Committee on Foreign Affairs.
3. Octaviano Larrazolo (1st Hispanic US Senator)
Born in Mexico, Larrazolo was elected to the U.S. Senate from New Mexico in 1928, and became the first senator of Hispanic heritage. Larrazolo, a Republican, also served as New Mexico’s Governor.
4. Susana Martinez (1st Hispanic Woman Governor)
Susana Martinez, the Republican governor of New Mexico, became the first Hispanic woman in the country elected to the position of governor of a U.S. state in 2010. Martinez switched to the Republican Party in 1995, a story she told at the GOP convention.
5. Alberto Gonzales (1st Hispanic Attorney General)
When President George W. Bush appointed Hispanic Alberto Gonzales Attorney General in 2005, not only did he become the first Hispanic to hold that position, but he became the nation’s highest-ranking Hispanic in the executive branch to this day. The U.S. Air Force veteran, who received his law degree from Harvard, was born in San Antonio, Texas and is one of eight children born to Mexican-American parents.
6. Antonia Coello Novello (1st Hispanic Surgeon General)
Novello, a Republican born in Puerto Rico, was appointed to serve as the 14th Surgeon General of the United States in 1990 under President George H.W. Bush. Not only was she the first Hispanic to serve as Surgeon General, but she was also the first woman!
7. Ben Fernandez – 1st Hispanic to Run For President
This WWII veteran and staunch Republican was the first Hispanic American to launch a presidential bid for any major political party – he ran for president as a Republican in 1980. Benjamin Fernandez was born in a converted railroad boxcar in Kansas City, Kansas, one of seven children born to Mexican migrants workers. With his G.I. benefits he earned a college degree in Economics and later an MBA from NYU, gaining many successful professional opportunities that made him a millionaire. Working on Nixon’s re-election campaign, Fernandez was part of another first – Nixon’s 1972 Presidential campaign was the first in American history to establish an outreach committee for Hispanics.