CANDIDATES
WOMEN OF COLOR BREAKING BARRIERS
Inspiring Leaders
Representation Matters is honored to support progressive Democratic women of color running for elected office across the country. The candidates Representation Matters features are passionate, courageous, determined and inspiring leaders who have compelling stories of overcoming challenges and breaking barriers. Their unique experiences and perspectives need to be heard at every level of government to shape effective policy. They are all committed to fighting for reproductive justice, racial justice, voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights, environmental protection, and all that we value. They are the hope for a representative democracy and our future. #2021-candidates
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SENATE CANDIDATES – 2026
Peggy Flanagan (MN)
Peggy Flanagan is Minnesota’s 50th Lieutenant Governor, a member of the White Earth Nation, and is running for Minnesota’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2026. When elected, she will be the first Native woman ever elected to the United States Senate. She has dedicated her career to working with and delivering for middle and working class Minnesotans. As Lieutenant Governor, Peggy secured the largest tax cut in Minnesota history; made transformative investments in education, small businesses, and childcare; and made the state a national leader in Tribal-State relations. Early support will help her campaign get off to a strong start.
HOUSE CANDIDATES – 2026
Must Win Seats
Janelle Bynum (OR-05)
Janelle Bynum is currently serving her fourth term in Oregon’s State Legislature, where she has a proven track record of working across the aisle and delivering results. She has been instrumental in passing legislation that invests in mental health care, expands youth voter engagement, and supports women of color in the workplace. Janelle has been an advocate for lowering the cost of prescription drugs, protecting women’s reproductive freedom, protecting LGTBQ+ rights, building more affordable housing and addressing homelessness, and taking on the climate crisis, and strengthening Oregon’s economy. She is a small business owner, an engineer and a mother of four.
Janelle won a competitive primary on May 21, and is now running to defeat the incumbent and far-right extremist Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who Janelle has beaten twice in Oregon State House races. Janelle is poised to flip this must-win seat from red to blue, and with our support, will help flip the House.
Congresswoman Sharice Davids (KS-03)
Rep. Sharice Davids represents Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District after successfully unseating a four-term Republican incumbent in November 2018, flipping KS-03 blue. Sharice is a member of the Ho Chunk Nation, and one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress. She is also the first openly LGBTQ member of Congress from Kansas. Sharice is the first woman to serve as Vice Chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and is Chair of the Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access. She also serves on the Committee on Agriculture, the Joint Economic Committee, and House Steering and Policy Committee, and is now the Chief Deputy Whip. Sharice is a proud Kansan who was raised by a single mother, and was the first person in her family to attend college, working her way from Johnson County Community College to Cornell Law School. She wants others to have the same opportunities to achieve their goals. That is why she has focused her career, including serving as an Obama White House Fellow, on bringing more opportunities to working families. Sharice has centered her work in Congress on tackling the issues most important to Kansas families, including strengthening public schools, lowering the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs, and making sure the government is working for the people – not special interests. This race has been one of the most competitive and expensive in the nation the last three election cycles, and two extremist super PACs have already named Sharice a top target. She is on the DCCC Frontline, and we must do everything we can to ensure she has the resources necessary to keep KS-03 blue.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03)
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is a fifth generation Latina Washingtonian running in a Trump district. When she was first elected in 2022, she flipped a R+5 seat by just two votes in each precinct, becoming the first Democrat to represent WA-03 in twelve years, and the first Democratic Latina to win this district. She and her husband run an auto repair and machine shop, and she has deep ties to rural communities. Ranked as one of the most bi-partisan lawmakers in the House, she works hard to make things easier for working families. She currently serves on the House Agriculture and the House Small Business Committees. She is on the DCCC Frontline, and is running for re-election against the same Trump-endorsed Republican she beat in 2022 by less than a percentage point. Marie is endorsed by Emily’s List, the Human Rights Campaign Fund, Latino Victory Fund and End Citizen’s United. If Democrats have any hope of retaking control of the House, it is imperative that we keep this seat in November.
Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05)
Rep. Jahana Hayes, the Congresswoman for Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District, made history in 2018 when she became the first African-American Congresswoman from Connecticut. This also marked her first public office. Previously a high school teacher, Jahana gained national attention when President Barack Obama named her National Teacher of the Year in 2016. In this role, she traveled nationally and internationally to engage education stakeholders in discussions focused on enhancing student outcomes.
Jahana’s life is a testament to triumph over adversity. Despite growing up amid poverty and addiction, and becoming pregnant at 17, she returned to school, earned multiple degrees, reached the zenith of teaching, and now serves in Congress. She attributes her success to education. Jahana stands as living proof that good government can work. In Congress, she is the Ranking member of the House Committees on Education and Workforce, and a member of the Committee on Agriculture, where she serves as the Ranking Member of the Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture and Horticulture subcommittee and on the Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Subcommittee. Her legislative interests include equitable education, affordable healthcare, food security, labor, veterans’ issues, gun violence prevention, and environmental issues. In 2022, Jahana won her re-election by just a margin of 1,842 votes. She is now running against the same opponent, and Trump Republicans have zeroed in on Jahana’s district as one of their top pickup targets, significantly investing in and running attack ads against her. Jahana needs our support to defend her record, spread her message, and keep CT-05 blue.
Rep. Andrea Salinas (OR-06)
Andrea Salinas is the proud daughter of a Mexican immigrant, a first-generation American, and a dedicated public servant. She was the first person in her family to graduate from a four-year university. She is a former State Legislator who took on several leadership roles, serving as Oregon House Majority Whip and Chair of the Oregon House Healthcare and Behavioral Health Committees. While serving as an Oregon state Representative, she worked to pass the nation’s most progressive paid family leave bill. She also introduced and passed a bill that made Big Pharma accountable to consumers and led to lower prescription drug prices. In 2022, Andrea made history as the first Democratic Latina to represent Oregon in Congress. She won Oregon’s new Sixth District by just 2.5% against a self-funding millionaire. In Congress, Andrea currently serves on the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Agriculture. Additionally, she holds leadership positions in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Democratic Women’s Caucus. She has a deep commitment to reproductive rights and workers’ rights. She is fighting to expand access to abortion care, tackle the climate crisis, and solve the issues that matter to families in her district and across the country. Her Republican challenger is the same person she won against in 2022, in a close election with about 50.1% of the vote. He has no governmental experience and is an anti-choice MAGA extremist. Republicans are eager to flip this seat red, and MAGA super PACs are pouring in more money than ever to try to defeat Andrea. She is on the DCCC Frontline, and we need to make sure she holds this seat.
Rep. Emilia Sykes (OH-13)
Emilia Sykes represents Ohio’s 13th Congressional District, the Birthplace of Champions, in the U.S. House of Representatives. Sykes served 8 years in the Ohio House of Representatives including 3 years as Minority Leader. There she fought for tax cuts for middle-class and working families, funding for high-speed Internet, and higher wages and safer working conditions for Ohio’s workers. In particular, Emilia’s work on domestic violence issues earned bipartisan praise and resulted in her priority legislation, Ohio HB 1, to be signed into law, which protects the safety and security of people in violent relationships. In 2022, Congresswoman Sykes defeated a Republican Fox News commentator to represent Ohio’s newly redrawn 13th Congressional District, winning one of the toughest races in the country. According to SplitTicket.org, Emilia achieved the largest over performance of any challenger in a battleground district in the nation. The district includes two of Ohio’s 10th largest cities, Akron and Canton, as well as numerous suburban communities, and rural areas that include one of Ohio’s largest dairy farms. In Congress, Emilia sits on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee where she works to rebuild our roads and infrastructure and protect our water resources and environment. Additionally, she serves on the Science, Space and Technology Committee where she guides research investment and technology development. Both committees are vital to the economic prosperity of Ohio and our nation. Sykes has earned several awards for her advocacy, including the EMILYs List national Rising Star award, Legislator of the Year from the Ohio Minority Business Enterprise, the Champion for Children award from Summit County Children’s Services, and 30 for the Future award from the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce. In 2022, Sykes spent over $2.4 million to fend off Republicans and win this seat. Her Republican opponent has spent his career as a lobbyist and self-serving politician, supporting efforts to ban abortion, gut Social Security and Medicare, and repeal the Affordable Care Act. Emilia is on the DCCC Frontline and her seat is a must win to ensure we have House Democratic majority.
CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR – 2026
Deb Haaland (NM)
Deb Haaland is a 35th-generation New Mexican, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna, a small businesswoman, a working mother who’s lived paycheck to paycheck, a former Congresswoman, and for the past four years, the United States Secretary of the Interior. Deb has a history of shattering glass ceilings. She was one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress in 2018, and was the first Native woman to serve in the Cabinet. She is running for Governor in New Mexico and when elected, will be the first Native American woman Governor in our country’s history. This will be an expensive race, and supporting her early helps ensure her campaign starts out strong.
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