Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Alma Hernandez, Mexican-American Jewish Woman, Wins Arizona Primary

(JTA) — Alma Hernandez, a 25-year-old Mexican-American Jew, finished in the top two in her Democratic primary for the Arizona statehouse, paving her way to be elected in November.

Hernandez was second in her district Tuesday — there are two open spots for state representative — allowing her to advance. There are no Republican candidates on the ballot this fall.

If elected, Hernandez would be the first Hispanic Jewish woman to hold elected office in the state, if not the country.

“I’m very proud of everything we were able to accomplish,” she told JTA on Wednesday. “We’re not going anywhere, and I’m here to stay.”

Hernandez is a liberal Jewish Latina activist who places both of those identities at the center of her work. She has worked in her hometown of Tucson on issues like immigration, health care and supporting Israel, and used to coordinate the local Jewish Community Relations Council.

The state representative position is part-time, so Hernandez plans to work in health care consulting on the side.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.