Minorities raise ranks in Congress

• Four blacks, three Hispanics head for service in House and the Senate

 llinois is sending to Washington only the fifth black American to be a U.S. senator while Colorado and Florida ended a drought of nearly 30 years on Hispanic senators.Republican Mel Martinez was elected to the Senate from Florida and Democrat Ken Salazar was elected from Colorado. There have been only three Hispanic senators -- all elected from New Mexico. "It's a tremendous opportunity for the Latino community to have their issues heard in the U.S. Senate," said Larry Gonzalez, Washington, D.C., director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.  David Bositis, senior political analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, predicted Barack Obama, elected senator from Illinois, will be a strong supporter of civil rights and other issues important to black Americans. "He will be the voice in the U.S. Senate to help carry forward our agenda," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. In the House, voters elected one new Hispanic and three new black Democratic lawmakers. Gwendolynne Moore became the first black lawmaker elected from Wisconsin. Al Green won in Texas and Emanuel Cleaver was elected in Missouri. Blacks now hold 40 of the 435 House seats. All are Democrats in a chamber controlled by Republicans. Members of the black caucus acknowledged that the GOP's retention of Congress was a setback, despite the caucus' seat gains. [more]