Social movements have long played a vital role in the election of women of color in the United States. They have provided them not only with the experience and motivation to run, but also in mobilizing the support necessary to get them elected. Not all social movements, however, have the same type of impact. Furthermore, the cyclical nature of mobilization may mean that leadership opportunities wax and wane alongside movements. This paper explores the impact that different social movements have had on Latina legislative leadership in Colorado. It uses a mixed method approach to explore the broader patterns of when, where, and which Latinas have been elected as well as the particularities of how individual Latinas have navigated the shifting political terrain both before and during their time in office. It uses a broad and intersectional lens that considers different types of movements (raced, gendered, conservative, progressive) as well as the varied impact they might have on a what is still a diverse group of women, resisting the tendency to treat social movements or Latinas as monoliths.
