Four members of Congress with Puerto Rican family roots, all Democrats, either won reelection or claimed victory in the midterm elections held Tuesday in the United States. In New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her fifth consecutive term representing District 14, which covers parts of the Bronx and Queens; she was born in the Bronx to a Puerto Rican mother and a father of Puerto Rican descent.
Ritchie Torres, also Bronx-born with both parents Puerto Rican, was reelected in New York’s District 15. In New Jersey, Nellie Pou secured her second term by defeating Republican Rosie Pino in District 9; born in Paterson to parents who emigrated from Puerto Rico in 1953, she became in 2024 the first Latina elected to Congress from New Jersey after serving in the state Assembly and Senate.
In Florida, Darren Soto declared victory in District 9, though the result had not been officially adjudicated. According to preliminary results from the Florida Department of State, Soto led Republican Dan Green 143,174 votes to 141,697, a margin of 1,477 votes. Soto was born in New Jersey to a Puerto Rican father and an Italian-descent mother.
If confirmed, all four lawmakers of Puerto Rican roots who sought reelection will keep their seats in Washington.