Adriano Espaillat | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 13th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2017 | |
Preceded by | Charles Rangel |
Member of the New York State Senate from the 31st district | |
In office January 1, 2011 – December 31, 2016 | |
Preceded by | Eric Schneiderman |
Succeeded by | Marisol Alcantara |
Member of the New York State Assembly from the 72nd district | |
In office January 1, 1997 – December 31, 2010 | |
Preceded by | John Brian Murtaugh |
Succeeded by | Guillermo Linares |
Personal details | |
Born | Adriano de Jesús Espaillat Rodríguez September 27, 1954 Santiago, Dominican Republic |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Martha Madera (m. 1979) |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Buenaventura Báez (third-great-grandfather) Marcos Antonio Cabral (second-great-grandfather) Mario Fermín Cabral y Báez (great-grandfather) |
Education | Queens College (BS) |
Website | House website |
Adriano de Jesús Espaillat Rodríguez (/ˌɑːdriˈɑːnoʊ ˌɛspaɪˈjɑːt/ AH-dree-AH-noh ESS-pie-YAHT; born September 27, 1954) is a Dominican-American politician. He is the U.S. representative for New York's 13th congressional district and the first Dominican American and first formerly undocumented immigrant to serve in Congress.[1] He previously served in the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly.[2]
Espaillat was a ranking member of the New York Senate Housing, Construction and Community Development Committee and chaired the Senate Latino Caucus. He represented the neighborhoods of Marble Hill, Inwood, Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights, Manhattanville, Morningside Heights, East Harlem and the Upper West Side in Manhattan.
Espaillat is a Democrat. He challenged then-Representative Charles Rangel in the Democratic primaries in 2012 and 2014, eventually winning the Democratic nomination in 2016 after Rangel announced his retirement. Espaillat represents one of the most Democratic districts in the country, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+38.[3]