Survery: Minorities make up 14 percent of state lawmakers

*Part of the reason, according to this article, is the lack of outreach encouraging Asians and Latinas and Latinos to run for office. There’s also a gender gap: men hold 76 percent of state lawmaking jobs. VL

By Jesse J. Holland, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Only 14 percent of state legislators are minorities, according to a report released on Monday.

The New American Leaders Project surveyed state lawmakers in 2015 and found that black politicians held around 9 percent of the seats, Latino and Latina politicians held about 4 percent of the seats and Asian American politicians held about 2 percent of the seats. Native American officeholders numbered less than 1 percent. This number is far below the racial and ethnic makeup of this country, with minorities making up 40 percent of the population.

Sayu Bhojwani, president and founder of the New American Leaders Project, said the major political parties could do more to help usher more minority candidates to state-level offices. She also wants more support for minority candidates once they decide to seek office and foundations to invest in preparing future lawmakers.

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