WASHINGTON — More Latinos will serve in Congress next year than ever before — at least 42, with one House race to be decided.
The latest winner is GOP Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington state, who claimed victory Wednesday for a fifth term over Democrat Carolyn Long.
In the race for an open seat in a GOP-held district that includes part of Orange County, California, Democrat Gil Cisneros trails Republican Young Kim, who's trying to become the first Korean-American immigrant woman elected to the House. Cisneros is a first-time candidate who won a $266 million lottery jackpot.
Thirty-three of 44 Latino Democratic candidates and seven of 15 Latino Republican candidates won their races.
Two Latino senators weren't on Tuesday's ballot: Florida Republican Marco Rubio and Nevada Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto.