Immigrant candidates have been making waves in both local and state elections, where fewer than two percent of 500,000 seats were held in 2015 by either Asian-Americans or Latinos — the two most populous groups of first and second-generation Americans. This doesn’t surprise us. They’re running the NALpista way – being authentic, connecting with often-neglected voters, and showing that you want to serve people. This year, forty-nine of our alumni threw their hats in the ring for local, statewide, and national office. Here’s a full list below:
Statewide Office
- January Contreras, Arizona Attorney General
U.S. Congress
- Gina Ortiz-Jones, U.S. House of Representatives, Texas
State Legislative Seats
- Rep. Stephanie Chang, Michigan State Senate
- Rico Razo, Michigan State House
- Jeffrey Nolish, Michigan State House
- Syed Rob, Michigan State House
- Julie Gonzales, Colorado State Senate
- Kyle Ishmael, New York State Assembly
- Catalina Cruz, New York State Assembly
- Tina Maharath, Ohio State Senate
- Rep. Otoniel Navarrete, Arizona State Senate
- Raquel Terán, Arizona State House
- Matthew Marquez, Arizona State Senate
- JP Martin, Arizona State House
- Gilbert Romero, Arizona State House
- Rep. Isela Blanc, Arizona State House (re-election)
- Rep. Athena Salman, Arizona State House (re-election)
- Michelle Duman, California State Assembly
- Maria del Rosario Palacios, Georgia State House
- Fatou-Seydi Sarr, Michigan State House
- Aditi Bagchi, Michigan State House
- Chris Chyung, Indiana State House
- Marisol Alcantara, New York State Senate (re-election)
City Council
- Farrah Khan, Irvine City Council, California
- Mark Anthony Paredes, Garden Grove City Council, California
- Ricardo Lara, Maywood City Council, California
- Lourdes Cruz, Yorba Linda City Council, California
- Aisha Wahab, Hayward City Council, California
- Jose Trinidad Castaneda, Fullerton City Council, California
- Arlis Reynolds, Costa Mesa City Council, California
- Vania Guevara, Phoenix City Council, Arizona
School or College Board
- Stephanie Parra, Phoenix Union High School District Governing Board (re-election), Arizona
- Naz Hamid, Irvine School Board, California
- Brian Garcia, Tempe Union High School District, Arizona
- Alex Serna, Palomar College Board, California
- Juan Álvarez, Anaheim Elementary School Board, California
- Katelyn Brazer, Garden Grove School District, California
- Francisca Montoya, Fowler Elementary School Board (re-election), Arizona
County Party Committee or other local positions
- Jose Lupe Conchas, Democratic Precinct Committee LD 30, Arizona
Countywide Office
- Duke Nguyen, Orange County Sheriff, California
We also applaud these alumni who had the courage to run in 2018, but did not win their primaries. We can’t wait to see your names on the ballot again!
- David Min, US House of Representatives, California
- Silky Malik, US House of Representatives, Texas
- Vicente Reid, Justice of Peace, AZ
- Nathaniel Epstein, Assessor, Orange County CA
- Mary Navarro, Orange County Board of Education, District 5
- Sameena Mustafa, US House of Representatives, IL
- Anne Shaw, IL State Legislature
- Kenge Malikidogo-Fludd, Montgomery County Council District 5
NAL is a non-partisan organization and does not endorse any candidates.