Time is winding down as we slowly approach Nov. 4 election day where new political leaders will be voted into office. This year, reports show that a record number of 82 black candidates are running for Congress, compared with the record 72 candidates in 2012.
Currently, there are 44 black politicians with Congressional seats, but with a record number of political power players on the pipeline to be voted in, that number is certainly expected to see an increase.
Check out our list of politicians you should know who are working tirelessly to make an impact in our government.
Anthony Brown
Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown is running for Governor of Maryland. If elected, he will make history as the first black governor of the state and only the third elected black governor in United States history.
Mia Love
Fighting to make history as the first black Republican women in Congress, Mia Love is running for the United States House of Representatives in Utah’s 4th Congressional district. As the former mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, Love first ran for a Congressional seat in 2012, but lost to Democrat Jim Matheson.
Brenda Lawrence
Serving as the mayor of Southfield, Michigan, Lawrence is the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s 14th Congressional district.
Cory Booker
Serving as the first black U.S. Senator of New Jersey, Booker is fighting to keep his seat in the next election.
Tim Scott
After being selected by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to fill Jim DeMint’s seat, Republican Tim Scott is the current United States Senator for South Carolina. He is the first black senator from that state and the first from the south since 1881. Scott is campaigning to keep his position in the 2014 election.
Bonnie Watson Coleman
Bonnie Watson Coleman is a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 15th Legislative District. She is running for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional district, and if she wins she will be the first woman of color elected to represent a New Jersey district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Stacey Plaskett
Stacey Plaskett is the Democratic candidate for Delegate to Congress representing the Virgin Islands.
Joyce Dickerson
Democratic nominee Joyce Dickerson is running against Tim Scott for U.S. Senator of South Carolina.
Muriel Bowser
Muriel Bowser is a two-term D.C. Council member from Ward 4 who is the Democratic nominee for mayor of the District of Columbia. She is running against Republican candidate Carol Schwartz.