This year, Hispanic surnames are appearing more than ever before on ballots for municipal elections as a wave of younger candidates made bids for local office across North Carolina.
More than two dozen people of Latin American descent registered with the State Board of Elections to run for local office across North Carolina this year.
WUNC identified at least 28 Hispanic candidates through a review of candidate profiles and public information.
However, the number may be higher, since confirming a Latino ethnicity among hundreds of candidates isn't a clear-cut task — some don't include any public information on themselves and did not respond to calls from WUNC, didn't include their ethnicity in their voter registrations, while the State Board of Elections doesn't track such candidate data.
The record number of Latino candidates was first reported by Enlace Latino NC.
Experts say these new faces on local ballots reflect the changing racial and ethnic makeup of the state. Candidates themselves say they're part of a new representation in local politics in the South.
What the new candidates say
In Durham, two Mexican-Americans ran for the first time for mayor and for a seat on the city council in a city where Mexicans are the make up the majority of Latinos. Javiera Caballero, who is Chilean-American, became the first Latina to be elected to the city council in 2018.
"I think part of it is people want to believe in what this country represents, and are not happy with some of the policies being executed," said mayoral candidate Pablo Friedmann.
"There’s this new crop of folks, who said, 'You know what? I’m gonna put myself out there, pase lo que pase (whatever happens, happens), and let the chips fall where they fall, but I believe enough to make it happen.'"
Friedmann emphasized that around a dozen of the first-time local Latino candidates, like himself, are under 40 years old.
Andrea Cazales ran to represent Durham's Ward 1 district on the city council.
"A lot of people, the best thing they have told me is that they see their story in mine," Cazales told WUNC. "That’s an honor and a responsibility. They even say how proud they are just to see myself on that ballot, to even have the courage to represent in a time where despite me being a citizen, I'm at (immigration) risk as well."
Cazales and Friedmann didn’t advance past the Oct. 7 primaries, and neither did the first Latina candidate for mayor of Asheboro in Randolph County. But they all made history by simply being on the ballot.
Others were successful, such as 27-year-old Colombian-American J.D. Mazuera, the first Latino to be elected to the Charlotte City Council.
And in the rural city of Henderson, 26-year-old Kenia Gomez Jimenez is also the first Latina to be elected to its city council.
2025 Latino Candidates in 20 NC Counties
- Here's a list of the 28 candidates who previously ran or are currently running and will be on Election Day ballots on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
- Ashe - Brian Blanco, West Jefferson Town Council
- Cabarrus - Alvarys Santana, Concord City Council, Ward 4
- Chatham - Kevin Manzanarez, Siler City Board of Commissioners
- Craven - Manny Ruiz, New Bern City Council, District 1
- Cumberland - Mario Benavente, Freddie De la Cruz - Mayor of Fayetteville
- Davie - Glamar Galeas, Mocksville Town Board
- Duplin - Randy Barrios, Rose Hill Town Council; Juan Carlos Quintanilla, Faison Town Council
- Durham - Pablo Friedmann, Mayor of Durham; Andrea Cazales, City Council Ward 1e
- Forsyth - Sebastian Jiménez-Barreras, Rural Hall Town Council
- Mecklenburg - J.D. Mazuera, Charlotte City Council, District 5
- Onslow - Fernando Schiefelbein, Jacksonville City Council, Ward 2
- Orange - Cristóbal Palmer, Carrboro Town Council; Erik Valera, Chapel Hill Town Council
- Person - Guillermo Nurse, Mayor of Oxford
- Perquimans - Andrew Almodova, Hertford Town Council
- Randolph - Jennyfer Bucardo, Mayor of Asheboro; Kevin Garcia, Asheboro City Council; Hilda DeCortez, Asheboro City Schools Board of Education; David Fernández, Mayor of Seagrove; William Farias, Sara Nieblas, Franklinville Town Council
- Rowan - Adrián Maldonado, Jr., Salisbury City Council
- Sampson - Antonio Garcia, Garland Town Council
- Vance - Kenia Gomez-Jiménez, Henderson City Council
- Wake - Jasmine Zavala, Wake Forest Town Board
- Wilson - Eduardo Herrera-Picasso, Wilson City Council, District 6
A changing demographic
"I'm excited to see so many folks take up that call to represent their communities," said Eliazar Posada, the first Latino to be elected to the Carrboro Town Council. "Seeing more candidates and Latino elected officials will change how parties really reach out to the Latino community ... understanding that we cannot be ignored."
North Carolina’s Latino and Hispanic population skyrocketed in 2021 to around 1.1 million people from about 400,000 people a decade before, U.S. Census figures show.
"Certainly, as a population grows just by nature of that has more political power because of that growth in that population," said North Carolina State Demographer Mike Cline. "I suspect as the second and third generation gets established, just by nature of that people want to be part of their own communities, a part of supporting cities and county governments."
Currently, around a third of Latinos in North Carolina are near or above voting age, according to Cline.
In 2020, Ricky Hurtado became only the second Latino in history and first Latino Democrat to be elected to the legislature. The first was Puerto Rico-born Daniel McComas, R-New Hanover, who served terms from 1994 to 2012.
Currently, Rep. Brian Echavarría, R-Cabarrus, and Rep. Jordan Lopez, D-Mecklenburg, serve in the legislature.
Chapel Hill town council candidate Erik Valera — who would be the second Latino elected to the position — says North Carolina’s Latino community is changing the historic narrative.
"We’ve been building towards this, this is isn't just a flash in the pan moment," said Valera. "There are people who came here before us. We’ve had leadership here for a while. I think what we’re seeing more now is we’re seeing more official leadership."
These candidates, Valera says, have a unique vantage point in engaging constituents as bilingual Americans.
Roughly one tenth of the state’s population aged five years or older — about 800,000 people — speaks Spanish at home, according to the Census.
"I can use the same message in English and and in Spanish, and with a Spanish-speaking audience, it might land a little bit different," said Valera. "When I’m speaking the fact that my parents taught me to believe in the American Dream, but the American dream isn’t promised, it takes hard work."
