Democrats racked up historic wins on Tuesday night that also stretched far beyond Virginia and Kentucky. In Tucson, Arizona, former city councilmember Regina Romero became the first woman and first Latina to be elected the city’s mayor. "At a time when our national politics have been sewn with division,” she said, “Tucsonans remain united by our shared desire to promote a safe, just, and sustainable city.”
“Romero, who served three terms on the Tucson City Council, ran on an ambitious platform focused on battling climate change, improving the city’s infrastructure and education system, as well as expanding opportunities for refugee and immigrant communities,” Huffington Post reported. While vote totals have yet to completed, by Tuesday evening she had secured her victory with 56% of the vote.
Her victory is a long time coming for Tucson. Even though Latinos have called the southwest their home for centuries, she is only “the second Hispanic to be elected mayor of Tucson since the Gadsden Purchase,” Arizona Daily Star said. Romero was already breaking barriers before this week, however. The daughter of immigrant farmworkers, she was the first in her family to graduate from college, and was also the first woman to represent Tucson’s Ward 1 on the city council.
As HuffPost noted, Romero’s historic victory also captured national attention, receiving congratulations from 2020 Democratic presidential candidates Julián Casto and Elizabeth Warren. “Regina is a champion for our environment and working families,” she tweeted, “and I'm looking forward to the big, structural change she'll bring to her community.” Castro’s congratulations featured a call for further Latina representation: “We need more Latinas to run, and win!”
“Councilwoman Regina Romero shattered one glass ceiling when she became the first Latina elected to the Tucson City Council, and now she’s broken yet another one by becoming Tucson’s first woman and first Latina mayor,” said Latino Victory Fund executive director Mayra Macías in a statement. “Her groundbreaking election is a testament of who she is as a leader and all the incredible things she’ll accomplish for the people of Tucson as their new mayor.”
