HispanicBusiness

Elections are closing in fast. While U.S. Hispanics are well represented in many state houses throughout the country, there is still underrepresentation in many national political categories, so HispanicBusiness.com is keeping a close eye on this year's results. Here's a roundup of the Hispanics running for U.S. Congress this year:

Senate

Rick Noriega (D-TX) – was first elected to the Texas House in 1998 after serving in Iraq as a lieutenant colonel in the Texas Army National Guard, and as incident commander at Huston's Hurricane Katrina relief center.

House

Jim Lopez (R-CA 20th) – served in both the Marines and Airforce during a 22 year military career that included time in Vietnam. The business owner is a former president of Service Employees International Union local 614 and the Solano/Napa County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Xavier Becerra (D-CA 31st) – was first elected to his House seat in 1993. He was the first Hispanic to serve on the House Ways and Means committee and is a former chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Hilda Solis (D-CA 32nd) – a House representative since 2000, and an eight year veteran of California's state legislature, Solis was the first woman to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for her work with environmental justice.

Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA 34th) – a former California Assembly representative, was the first Mexican-American woman elected to congress and the first female chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Grace Napolitano (D-CA 38th) – was first elected in 1998 and is currently serving her fifth term. The former mayor of Norwalk, CA, worked for Ford Motor Company for 21 years while raising five children.

Linda Sanchez (D-CA 39th) – was the first Latina in history to serve on the Judiciary Committee, the first woman chair the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, and co-founder of the Labor and Working Families Caucus.

Christina Avalos (D-CA 40th) – an organizer of the Latino Congreso, received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Patrick Henry Democratic Club of America in 2007.

Joe Baca (D-CA 43rd) – first elected to Congress in 1999, was named the 38th most powerful member of the House by Capitol Advantage, and has had two parks named after him in his district.

Loretta Sanchez (D-CA 47th) – was first elected in 1996 and in 1998 received a presidential appointment to co-chair the Democratic National Committee. She is the first and only Hispanic woman elected in Orange County.

Rosie Avila (R-CA 47th) – has served on the Santa Ana School Board for 17 years and is a trustee at Biola University. She was appointed by President Bush to the President's Commission on White House Fellows.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL 18th) – has been a House representative since 1989, and was the first Hispanic woman and the first Cuban-American elected to serve in congress. The former teacher and principal was born in Cuba.

Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL 21st) – became the first Hispanic on the Rules Committee during his second year in Congress. He has received prestigious awards from Nicaragua, Colombia, and El Salvador for his work on behalf of the countries' immigrants. Mr. Diaz-Balart has held his seat since 1986, and this year faces competition from another Hispanic candidate, Raul Martinez.

Raul Martinez (D-FL 21st) – became the country's first Cuban-born mayor in Hileah's 1981 election, and this year is challenging another Cuban-American for a seat in the House. Mr. Martinez was awarded the Florida League of Cities' prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award and has a city hall and a portion of a road which bear his name.

Joe Garcia (D-FL 25th) – led the state's Public Service Commission, was executive director of the Cuban American National Foundation and chaired the Miami-Dade Democratic Party. He is running against Hispanic incumbent Mario Diaz-Balart.

Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL 25th) – was elected to Congress in 2002. He is the vice chair of the Congressional Hispanic Conference and the founder and co-chair of the Everglades Caucus. This year he is challenged by Hispanic candidate Joe Garcia.

Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL 4th) – the first Latino elected to Congress from the Midwest, is a former teacher, social worker, community activist and Chicago City Council member. He now chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force.

Helena Moreno (D-LA 2nd) – was a reporter at New Orleans' WDSU-TV until she resigned to run for office. She earned top honors from the Associated Press and Press Club of New Orleans, and won an Emmy for her team's outstanding coverage of Hurricane Katrina. – Primary 9/6

Ben R. Lujan (D-NM 3rd) – has been one of New Mexico's Public Regulation Commissioners since 2004 and is a former chair of the commission. He was also the CFO of the state's Cultural Affairs Department and Deputy State Treasurer.

Eddie Zamora (R-TX 15th) – a six year Navy veteran, was ordained in 2005 and is currently a minister at Abundant Grace Community Church. In 2006 he served in the Republican Party of Texas State Convention's Temporary and Permanent Rules Committee.

Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX 15th) – helped his parents' company, H&H Foods, grow from making $350,000 a year to it's current revenue of $55 million in annual sales. First elected to Congress in 1996, Hinojosa founded and chairs the Congressional Rural Housing Caucus.

Silvestre Reyes (D-TX 16th) – a Vietnam veteran, chaired the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, founded the House Diversity and Innovation Caucus, and co-founded the Congressional USO Caucus.

Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX 20th) – is a senior Democratic Whip and chairs the Hispanic Caucus Civil Rights Task Force. He also chaired the House Administration's special taskforce committee investigating the contested '06 election in Florida's 13th Congressional District.

Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX 23rd) – is a former social worker, teacher, and school board member. She now chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' Taskforce on Veterans Affairs.

Solomon Ortiz (D-TX 27th) – co-chairs the Border Caucus, House Depot Caucus, Naval Mine Warfare Caucus and is dean of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Texas House Democratic Delegation.

Henry Cuellar (D-TX 28th) - regularly hosts "Neighborhood Office Hours" in every town in his district to stay in touch with his constituents. In the 109th Congress he ranked first in passing amendments among first year legislators and third among all House members.

Brian Ruiz (D-TX 31st) – has worked in the media and real estate industries, and in 1994 was one of the youngest state delegates to the Texas Democratic State Convention.