7 facts about Latino Republicans you didn’t know

1. The first U.S. Senator of Mexican-American descent, Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo, was a Republican.

2. George H.W. Bush, then Republican National Cmte Chairman, announced the formation of the first Spanish Speaking Advisory Cmte to the RNC in 1973.

3. Latino Republican elected officials, as of June 2012: 1 Senator, 7 House members (5 men, 2 women), 5 state officials (3 men, 2 women), 7 state senators (5 men, 2 women), and 38 state representatives (32 men, 6 women).

4. In Florida, site of the Republican National Convention, there are 463,298 registered Hispanic Republicans, out of a total of 1,550,635 voters (592,434 are Hispanic Democrats)

5. Latino Republicans have made gains in recent elections – the 112th Congress has 7 Latino House members and 17 Democrats; up from only 3 Latino Republicans and 21 Democrats in the previous congressional elections.

6. Of the seven House members, 3 are from Florida, 2 are from Texas, 1 is from Washington state and 1 is from Idaho.

7. At the county and local level, there are 179 Latino Republican officials, including school boards, municipalities and in law enforcement/judicial positions. (In contrast, there are 1,402 Latino Democrats).

Sources: NALEO, Library of Congress, Florida Dept of State, U.S. Census.