Colorado elects its first Latina member of Congress, Yadira Caraveo

Democratic state Rep. Yadira Caraveo made history as Colorado’s first Latina elected to Congress, according to NBC News projections.

With 97% of the votes counted, Caraveo won 48.4% of the votes and Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer won 47.7%, according to the NBC News Decision Desk.

Caraveo will represent the newly drawn 8th Congressional District, north of Denver, which has the largest percentage of Hispanics in the state, at 39%.

Caraveo, a pediatrician and the daughter of Mexican immigrants, was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2018. During her time at the Statehouse, she has focused on health care policy, voting and reproductive rights, among other issues, according to her campaign website.

She also backed a Colorado bill codifying abortion access in the state earlier this year.

The first Hispanic member of Congress representing Colorado, John Salazar, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004 and served until 2011.

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