The most heatedly contested and highly followed congressional campaign in the state this year was won by Democratic state lawmaker Dr. Yadira Caraveo, who will now represent Colorado’s newly created 8th Congressional District. District 8 encompasses Frederick Highschool and also is the most diverse district in the state with nearly 40% being Latino. 

Yadira Caraveo is the first Latina to represent Colorado in Congress. She was a former pediatrician and she is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Her mother wanted to go to medical school and her father wanted to become an engineer which is what sparked her passion for wanting to pursue medicine. But, the thing that got Caraveo started in politics was the increasingly high cost of living. Her father was able to support a family of four in Thorton only on a wage as a construction worker. Their hard work afforded Yadira to go to college and become a doctor. But, in Colorado today, that is not possible.

Because of Caraveo’s background in medicine, her four years at the statehouse were focused on pushing bills on health care issues. She heavily wants affordable healthcare and during COVID, she set up a reserve corps to help with student loan relief for hospital workers.

Caraveo has also sponsored the “Oversight of Chemicals Used In Oil & Gas” bill which enhances the concerns about the transparency and disclosure of certain chemicals used in oil and gas production. One of the things that really set her apart from her opponent during the election, Barb Kirkmeyer is their beliefs on reproductive rights. Barb opposes legal abortion while Caraveo backed the Reproductive Health Equity act which codified legal abortion in state law.

“I find her very inspirational, as a Mexican-American, I look up to her and her accomplishments. Yadira Caraveo becoming a pediatrician, legislator, and a successful advocate for children, is why I look up to her. I also find the way she overcame the obstacles of being a Mexican-American inspiring, you live two different lives, one at home and another at school. One in spanish the other in English. Its also inspiring the way she not only has a doctorate in medicine but also is involved in politics.” said Julissa Solorzano.

Still, Caraveo’s main aim is to bring back what her father did for her family. She wants to be able to restore the idea of the American dream so families that are in a similar situation to that of what her father was in, can achieve it.